Pakistani insurgents opened fire Tuesday on a passenger train in the country's southwestern Balochistan province, wounding the driver and prompting security guards aboard the train to fire back, officials said. CNN reports the attack came as the train approached a tunnel. Pakistan Railways sources confirm to Al Jazeera that the nine-car Jaffar Express held more than 400 passengers, and that "intense firing" at the train had been reported, per government spokesman Shahid Rind. After the attack, the train, which Rind said had been traveling about 1,000 miles from the provincial capital of Quetta to the northern city of Peshawar, stopped in a remote area in the Bolan district, reports the AP.
"We are unable to make any contact with passengers and crew, and the situation remains unclear," a railway official told CNN of the apparent hostage situation. The separatist Baloch Liberation Army has taken responsibility for the ambush, claiming that six military personnel have already been killed and that more people would die if any kind of security operation were to be attempted. Rind said ambulances had been dispatched to the scene, but he added that the region's mountainous terrain was making rescue efforts "challenging." The government rep describes the attack as "an act of terrorism," per the AP. (Check back for new details on this developing story.)