At least 16 militants have been killed and 100 passengers were freed as of Wednesday morning, local media reported. The BBC has not been able to independently verify those figures. Among those released are 17 injured passengers, who have been admitted to hospital for treatment.

A security force personnel member stands guard near a train containing empty coffins that are dispatched to Bolan where a passenger train that was attacked by separatist militants, at a railway station in Quetta,

The Pakistani government, facing a widening security crisis in the country’s restive southwest, has given little indication it intends to negotiate with the militants.