Police report at least 24 killed in bomb blast at a train station in Pakistan

At least 24 people were killed and over 40 injured in a bomb explosion at a railway station in Quetta, located in southwestern Pakistan, on Saturday, according to police and other officials speaking to Reuters.

Pakistan is facing a rise in attacks by separatist ethnic militants in Balochistan province in the south and Islamist militants in the northwest. A long-running insurgency in Balochistan has destabilized the region, raising security concerns for projects aimed at exploiting the province's untapped resources.

Mouzzam Jah Ansari, the Inspector General of Police in Balochistan, confirmed that 24 people had died in the railway station blast, which typically sees heavy traffic in the morning. "The target was army personnel from the Infantry School," he said, adding that many of the injured were in critical condition.

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist militant group, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement sent to Reuters. The BLA advocates for the independence of Balochistan, a province with approximately 15 million residents, bordering Afghanistan to the north and Iran to the west. It is the largest of several ethnic insurgent groups fighting against the government, accusing it of exploiting the province's valuable gas and mineral resources. "So far, 44 injured people have been brought to the civil hospital," Dr. Wasim Baig, a hospital spokesperson, told Reuters.

Senior Superintendent of Police Operations, Muhammad Baloch, stated that the explosion appeared to be a suicide bombing, and investigations were ongoing. "The blast occurred inside the railway station just as the Peshawar-bound express was about to depart," Baloch said. 

In August, separatist militants launched widespread attacks across Balochistan, killing at least 73 people in strikes on police stations, railway lines, and highways. These assaults were among the most extensive in years, carried out by militants fighting for the secession of the resource-rich southwestern province, which hosts major China-led infrastructure projects like a port and a gold and copper mine.