'Bloodbath': 26 people killed in train station bombing in Quetta, Pakistan

One victim said it was like ‘Doomsday’ after a suicide bomber targeted passengers waiting to board an express train

Quetta, Pakistan — On Saturday morning, Pakistan Railways’ senior ticket inspector Ikhtiar Hussain arrived at Quetta Railway Station in the country’s Balochistan province around 8:25 a.m. local time (03:25 GMT), ready to board the train to start work.

A few seconds later, Hussein heard a loud explosion and fell to the ground. Shrapnel from the explosion hit his right cheek and his face started bleeding.

At least 26 people, including security personnel and civilians, were killed and dozens were injured when a suicide bomber targeted passengers waiting for the Jafar Express heading to Peshawar on Saturday morning.

Hussein, 47, survived but with scars on his face and memories that will never be erased.

Speaking to Al Jazeera from Quetta Civil Hospital, where he was receiving treatment for his wounds, Hussain said, “This was a sight of Judgment Day, because people smiling at the station fell to the ground in a pool of blood within seconds.”

Pakistani officials confirmed that the incident was a suicide attack. Law enforcement forces are investigating how the attacker managed to enter the station despite strict security measures at the entrance and exit gates.

The illegal armed separatist group Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attack.

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and other senior political leaders condemned the attack on unarmed passengers and vowed to punish the perpetrators.

However, the government also needs to answer the questions of many people whose friends and relatives are in critical condition.

Local bricklayer Hafiz Allah Ditta, 32, had come to the station to see off a friend who was heading to the southern city of Bahawalpur. “As we entered platform 1 of the train station, a powerful explosion shook the area,” Ditta recalled. He added that his friend is currently in intensive care in the hospital.

“The police were standing at the ticket office and looking for pieces of passengers’ luggage, but the government needs to increase security measures at the train station because we do not know how the suicide bomber got inside the station,” Ditta said.

epa11710880 A person injured in an explosion at a railway station is taken to hospital in Quetta, the capital of Pakistan's restive Balochistan province, 09 November 2024. At least 21 people died in an explosion at Quetta Railway Station in the early hours of the morning. Police said the attack was a possible suicide bomb. In addition to the reports, he said that more than 50 people were injured. The explosion occurred on the platform while passengers were preparing to board the Jafar Express to go to Peshawar. Emergency services responded quickly and transported the victims to Quetta Civil Hospital; An emergency was declared here to deal with the large number of casualties, including women and children. Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfraz Bugti condemned the attack as a horrific act against civilians and ordered an immediate investigation, while police and bomb squads secured the area for further investigation. EPA-EFE/SAMI KHAN — One of the injured was taken to the hospital in Quetta. The explosion occurred on the platform as passengers were preparing to board the Jafar Express to Peshawar (Sami Khan/EPA-EFE)

Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, which shares borders with Iran and Afghanistan, has witnessed an increase in violent attacks since January. Government and security forces are fighting religious armed groups such as ISIS (ISIS), Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, and Baloch separatist groups.

Last week, nine people were killed in an IED explosion that targeted a police vehicle tasked with protecting polio vaccination teams in Mastung, a remote city about 52 km (32 miles) from the capital Quetta.

Commissioner Hamza Shafqat, a senior bureaucrat who manages the administrative affairs of four districts including Quetta, told reporters that CCTV footage showed the attacker entering the station pretending to be a passenger before blowing himself up.

Muhammad Amir Rafique, 41, another railway employee working at the station, said he saw smoke and dust coming out of the platform after the powerful explosion.

“We ran towards the scene, the injured were screaming for help and the bodies were lying on the ground,” he told Al Jazeera. Rafique then began helping police and rescue teams carry the injured to ambulances.