Quetta, Dec 24 A portion of the railway track was damaged after a bomb planted on the track exploded near Dera Murad Jamali in Pakistan's Balochistan, while police defused another explosive device, local media reported on Wednesday.
Police said miscreants had planted an improvised explosive device (IED) on the main railway track near the Notal area of Nasirabad district. The device exploded before the Jaffar Express heading from Peshawar to Quetta reached the site on Tuesday, Pakistan's leading daily Dawn reported.
A section of the track was damaged after the explosion, forcing the suspension of train services.
Railway officials halted the Jaffar Express at Dera Murad Jamali and suspended train services between Quetta and other areas until the tracks are fully repaired.
After the blast, a heavy contingent of police, the bomb disposal squad and security forces reached the site and started a search operation to find those involved in the incident.
Earlier in November, the Jaffar Express was attacked in the Bolan Pass area of Pakistan's Balochistan. Railway officials said the Jaffar Express was travelling from Quetta to Peshawar when the armed men targeted the train, Dawn reported.
According to railway officials, armed men opened fire at the train when it reached near Aab-i-Gum. Security personnel, including Railway police, travelling on the train, retaliated.
However, the attackers escaped from the site after a brief exchange of fire with security personnel. According to railway officials, no casualty was reported in the shooting.
On October 7, at least seven people were injured after a blast targeted the Quetta-bound Jaffar Express in the Shikarpur district of Sindh, according to officials.
Shikarpur Deputy Commissioner Shakeel Abro said that a blast took place on the train tracks at 8:15 am (local time) on October 7.
According to him, the blast happened at a distance of one kilometre from the Sultan Kot railway station. Abro said that seven people were injured in the incident.
Earlier this year, the Jaffar Express passenger train on its way from Quetta to Peshawar was hijacked by the Baloch Liberation Army's (BLA) Majeed Brigade, and over 400 people were taken as hostages.
The train was forced to come to a halt on March 11 after blowing off the track in the Dhabar area of Bolan Pass in Balochistan.
Security forces and the railway authorities had confirmed that the train had come under attack near Tunnel No. 8 of the Bolan Pass.
The standoff ended after more than 24 hours. The BLA claimed to have killed at least 20 of the abducted security personnel after checking their IDs.
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