At least, 24 people have died after a suicide bomber targeted a train carrying military personnel and their families in Pakistan, officials say.
The shuttle service was travelling through the city of Quetta in the southwestern province of Balochistan when a vehicle packed with explosives hit one of the carriages in a residential area, with people living in nearby flats among the dead.
Quetta is the capital of insurgency-hit Balochistan province, which borders Iran and Afghanistan.
Two of the train carriages overturned and caught fire due to the force of the blast, sending black smoke into the air, according to footage online.
More than 70 others were injured in the explosion, according to three provincial government and security officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Doctors at local hospitals said they had received the wounded, with 20 in a critical condition.
The incident took place in an area where security forces are usually stationed.
Several buildings were damaged along with more than a dozen vehicles parked along the road, according to witnesses and images circulating on social media.
The train was carrying passengers from Quetta’s cantonment area to connect with the Jaffar Express long-distance train when the blast happened.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the incident, calling it a “cowardly act of terrorism” in a post on X and offering condolences to the families of the victims.
Shahid Rind, a spokesperson for the Balochistan provincial government, said they “strongly condemn the targeting of innocent civilians and are deeply saddened by the loss of precious human lives. Terrorist elements deserve no leniency”.
A medical emergency was declared at hospitals in the city following the incident, and an investigation has been opened, he said.