SpaceX launches international crew to ISS on Crew-11 mission
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket successfully launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, sending an international crew of four astronau...
Militants wearing suicide bombs held hostages on a train hijacked in Balochistan, Pakistan. The Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility, threatening to execute hostages unless political prisoners are released. The attack, which killed several, complicates ongoing rescue efforts.
Attackers wearing suicide bombs were sitting next to passengers taken hostage after militants took over a train in southwest Pakistan, sources said on Wednesday, complicating rescue efforts a day after the country's first such hijacking.
The separatist militants blew up a railway track and opened fire on the Jaffar Express on Tuesday as it travelled from Quetta, Balochistan's capital city, to Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Pakistani forces have rescued 155 passengers, and the government said a security operation was under way to free dozens still held hostage, without specifying the exact number.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), an ethnic armed group, claimed responsibility for the attack and threatened to start executing hostages unless Baloch political prisoners, activists, and missing persons it said had been abducted by the military were released within 48 hours.
BLA said on Tuesday it was holding 214 people hostage, and a security source told Reuters that there were 425 passengers on the train when it was attacked.
The number of militants involved in the attack was not clear. The security sources said on Wednesday that 27 had been killed so far.
BLA is the largest of several ethnic armed groups battling Pakistan's government in the mineral-rich province of Balochistan, bordering Afghanistan and Iran.
SOME PASSENGERS KILLED, SAY EYEWITNESSES
Several of those rescued were brought to Quetta early Wednesday, escorted by security forces, where their relatives were waiting for them.
"People were attacked ... passengers were injured and some passengers died," said Muhammad Ashraf, who was on the train.
Several witnesses interviewed by Geo News said they were asked by security personnel to stay low when there was gunfire.
Visuals from the broadcaster showed those rescued meeting and hugging relatives and friends.
A woman, who said her son was among the passengers still held hostage, confronted provincial minister Mir Zahoor Buledi when he visited the freed passengers.
"If you cannot protect trains, then you should not run them. Please, bring my son back," she said.
Pakistan Railways has suspended all operations from Punjab and Sindh provinces to Balochistan until security agencies confirm the area is safe , local media reported on Wednesday.
Buledi told reporters that the government was working to improve the security situation in the region.
The world’s biggest dance music festival faces an unexpected setback as a fire destroys its main stage, prompting a last-minute response from organisers determined to keep the party alive in Boom, Belgium.
Australian researchers have created a groundbreaking “biological AI” platform that could revolutionise drug discovery by rapidly evolving molecules within mammalian cells.
Australian researchers have pioneered a low-cost and scalable plasma-based method to produce ammonia gas directly from air, offering a green alternative to the traditional fossil fuel-dependent Haber-Bosch process.
A series of earthquakes have struck Guatemala on Tuesday afternoon, leading authorities to advise residents to evacuate from buildings as a precaution against possible aftershocks.
'Superman' continued to dominate the summer box office, pulling in another $57.25 million in its second weekend, as theatres welcome a wave of blockbuster competition following a challenging few years for the film industry.
High-ranking delegations from UN member states, business leaders, and representatives of international financial institutions will gather in Turkmenistan for a UN conference aimed at supporting developing countries whose economies are often “locked out” due to lack of access to the sea.
Uzbekistan has officially approved a new concept aimed at overhauling its system of military professional education, focusing on modernization, integration, and broader career opportunities for service members.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres is set to visit Almaty, Kazakhstan, on 3 August, to meet with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
Julie Stufft, U.S. President Donald Trump’s nominee for Ambassador to Kazakhstan, outlined her priorities during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing, pledging to support 'America's growing strategic partnership with Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan ramped up uranium production by 13% in the first half of 2025, according to Kazatomprom, the world’s largest uranium producer, reinforcing its position as a global nuclear fuel supplier despite falling market prices and weak sales.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment