00:18A suicide bomber just tore through a military shuttle train in Pakistan.
00:24At least 23 people are dead.
00:26Security personnel, their families, women, children.
00:31The carriages are burned out.
00:33The platform is covered in debris.
00:35And a separatist group is already claiming responsibility.
00:39Sunday morning.
00:41Quetta, Balochistan, a shuttle train carrying Pakistani security personnel and their families
00:46departs the cantonment heading toward Quetta railway station.
00:50Near Chamin Fatak, close to the station, a massive explosion tears through the train.
00:57The blast is enormous.
00:59One carriage overturned, others shredded, nearby vehicles destroyed, buildings damaged, debris
01:06scattered across a wide radius, fires breaking out across the scene.
01:11Some reports suggest over 30 kilograms of explosives were used.
01:16At least 23 dead, up to 82 injured.
01:20Hospitals in Quetta were overwhelmed.
01:22The death toll is still climbing.
01:25Within hours, a claim of responsibility landed.
01:28The Balochistan Liberation Army, the BLA, specifically its Majid Brigade, the group's dedicated suicide
01:36squad, claimed the attack.
01:37They called it a Fidai operation, a martyrdom mission, deliberately targeting Pakistani army
01:44and security forces.
01:46The Majid Brigade isn't new to mass casualty attacks.
01:50They've carried out some of the deadliest bombings in Balochistan's recent history.
01:54Stock exchanges, luxury hotels, military convoys.
01:59This is their signature.
02:01High impact, high visibility, maximum casualties.
02:04Pakistani officials have condemned the bombing as terrorism, with some pointing fingers at
02:10external backing.
02:12India has been named, a familiar narrative Islamabad reaches for after major Baloch attacks.
02:18To understand why this keeps happening, you need to understand Balochistan.
02:23It's Pakistan's largest province, rich in natural resources, gas, minerals, strategic ports like
02:31Gwadar.
02:32And it has been the center of a grinding separatist insurgency for decades.
02:37Pakistani security forces have responded with military operations, enforced disappearances,
02:43and crackdowns.
02:44The BLA has responded with bombs.
02:48Trains are a recurring target.
02:50In November 2024, just 18 months ago, a BLA suicide bomber hit Quetta railway station itself,
02:59killing nearly 30 people.
03:01Before that, a train was hijacked in a dramatic multi-hour standoff.
03:05This morning's attack is the latest chapter in a conflict that Pakistan's government has struggled
03:12to either win or end.
03:14Footage from the scene tells the story without words.
03:18Burned-out carriages, rescue workers pulling survivors through twisted metal, ambulances lined
03:24up outside overwhelmed hospitals, families who boarded a shuttle train on a Sunday morning
03:30and never made it to the station.
03:33Rescue operations are still ongoing.
03:35The casualty figures are still rising.
03:38And the BLA has made clear this was intentional, targeted, and claimed with pride.
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