Militants blew up the rail tracks and opened fire on the Jaffar Express as it made its way to Peshawar in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from Quetta, the capital of mineral-rich Balochistan province, taking several passengers hostage.

Security officials said more than 300 hostages were rescued, and the operation continued, but gave no details about the hostages killed.

An injured passenger rescued by security forces from a passenger train attacked by insurgents arrive at a railway station in Much near Quetta | Photo: AP Quetta (Pakistan): Pakistani authorities on Wednesday confirmed that an insurgent attack on a passenger train in Balochistan had ended after a prolonged standoff,