Pakistan Launches 'Full-scale' Operation To Free Train Hostages

Militants bombed a section of the railway track and stormed the train on Tuesday afternoon in southwest Balochistan province, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, where attacks by separatists have risen sharply in the past year. (Credit: AFP)

Pakistan forces launched a "full-scale" operation on Wednesday to rescue train passengers taken hostage by militants in the mountainous southwest, with security sources saying 155 had been freed in the past 24 hours.

More than 450 passengers were on board when militants captured the train at the entrance of a tunnel in a remote frontier district, with an unknown number of hostages still being held.