The hijacking of the Jaffar Express train in Pakistan’s Balochistan ended on Wednesday after the militants were killed and the remaining hostages were rescued, Dawn reported on Thursday quoting a military spokesperson.

The train was hijacked on Tuesday and the Pakistani military announced the conclusion of its security operation on Wednesday night. The Baloch Liberation Army, a militant group operating in the Balochistan province of Pakistan, had claimed responsibility for the attack.

General Lt Gen Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry, the director of the Inter-Services Public Relations, was quoted as saying that 33 militants had been killed by the security forces.

Chaudhry said that there had been about 440 passengers on board the train but he did not specify how many hostages had been rescued.

Twenty-one passengers were killed by the militants during the attack, the ISPR chief told Dunya News on Thursday.

Four personnel of the Frontier Corps, a Pakistani paramilitary unit, were also killed. It was unclear if off-duty soldiers reportedly on board the train or personnel from other security units who were also killed.

Other news outlets have reported varying numbers quoting unidentified security officials.

The militants had used the hostages, including women and children, as human shields, the military said.

The hostages had been deboarded from the train and were made to sit in groups, which were guarded by “suicide bombers”, Dawn quoted the public relations chief of the Pakistani military as saying.

Besides the Frontier Corps, the Special Service Group of the Army and the Pakistani Air Force were part of the rescue operation, Dawn reported.

On Tuesday, the Baloch Liberation Army had claimed that it had taken 182 hostages, including military personnel. The group had threatened to kill the hostages if security forces did not leave the area.

The Jaffar Express was on its way from Quetta to Peshawar in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa when it was fired upon, Reuters had quoted unidentified railway and police officials as confirming on Tuesday. The driver was wounded in the attack, the officials said, adding that the train was trapped inside a tunnel.

Condemning the attack, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Wednesday that “the entire nation is deeply shocked by this dastardly act and saddened by the loss of innocent lives…”

“…such cowardly acts will not shake Pakistan’s resolve for peace,” he said.

The Baloch Liberation Army advocates for the secession of the area from the country through armed struggle.

The group, designated a terrorist organisation by the Pakistani government, is known for carrying out frequent attacks against the government, army and Chinese interests in the region.

Chaudhry told Dunya News on Thursday that the militants were “in contact with their supporters and masterminds in Afghanistan during the operation via satellite phone”.

“This incident changes the rules of the game, because these terrorists have no link to Balochistan or religion,” the official said.