Pakistani authorities say they have rescued the remaining individuals who were taken hostage on Tuesday by militants from the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) on a train in the southwest of the country.
"All innocent hostages have been safely rescued, and their evacuation is underway," the Pakistani army said in a statement.
The army said that it rescued approximately 178 hostages Wednesday in addition to the 168 it recovered Tuesday.
The rescue comes shortly after the BLA announced that it had executed 50 hostages. 11 individuals were killed during the initial attack on the train, which was carrying more than 450 people, including soldiers and security personnel. In addition, 10 Pakistani soldiers were killed during a firefight with the militants on Tuesday and 30 people were killed "in combat."
The militants bombed the track on Tuesday afternoon before storming the train in the remote Sibi district.
Security sources reported that 30 militants have been killed to date in the ongoing operation aimed at rescuing the remaining hostages, though the precise number of hostages remains uncertain.
The BLA stated that no fighters from their group had been killed and asserted that while the hostages had not been freed, they had “released all the women, children, sick individuals, and Baloch civilians.”