Pakistan on Wednesday completed the rescue operations in the Jaffar Express hijack incident and said that all hostages had been freed. The army claimed that 33 Baluch Liberation Army (BLA) militants, which had claimed responsibility for the attack, had been killed.
"All present terrorists there have been sent to hell and their total number was 33,” said Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) director general Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry speaking to Dunya News.
"The armed forces successfully concluded the operation in the (Wednesday) evening by killing all terrorists and rescuing all passengers safely," he said.
In an operation that went on for more than 24 hours, the Pakistan security officials said that no passenger was hurt and “the number of passengers who fell victim to the barbarism of the terrorists is 21.”
Providing the details of the operation, Lt Gen Sharif said, "The rescue operation began immediately, with participation from the Army, Air Force, Frontier Corps, and Special Services Group commandos."
The terrorists were in communication with their facilitators and masterminds in Afghanistan through satellite phones, indicating a foreign connection, officials revealed.
He said that security forces took time to complete the operation as the militants were using hostages as human shields.
