Dozens dead after Pakistan military storms train, ending 27-hour hostage standoff with militants

Pakistani security forces stormed a train on Wednesday that had been hijacked by separatist militants, killing all 33 attackers and ending a day-long standoff involving hundreds of hostages, the military said.

Separatist Baloch militants on Tuesday blew up the railway track and hurled rockets at the Jaffar Express when it was on its way to Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province from Balochistan's capital of Quetta, carrying 440 people.

The military said 21 hostages and four security troops were killed over the course of the standoff.

Rescued passengers from the hijacked train arrived at Quetta railway station, where paramedics provided first aid to the injured.

The driver of the hijacked Jaffar Express train recounted the harrowing 27-hour ordeal, saying the train was derailed by a bomb blast and then came under militant fire.