QUETTA: Two people were killed and over 10 were wounded during an attack on the Rawalpindi-bound Jaffar Express on Friday, AFP reported.

The train, which began its journey from Quetta, was attacked with rockets in the Dozan area near Machh Town in Balochistan’s Bolan district. Women and children were among the casualties.

“We have taken two dead bodies and 24 injured to the hospital, the condition of most of the injured was critical because of excessive bleeding,” Zubair Kurd, a local government official in the area told AFP, warning that the death toll may increase.

Kurd said the attackers were hiding in the mountains and first started firing and then fired at least three rockets at the train.

“They managed to escape. We have launched a search operation,” Kurd added.

Security forces, backed by a military helicopter, launched a search in an effort to trace and arrest the attackers, AP quoted railway official Kashif Khan as saying.

Friday’s attack comes just over a week after gunmen disguised as security personnel killed 11 civilians and two security men after kidnapping them from Punjab-bound passenger coaches also near Machh Town.

The coaches were coming from Quetta and the banned Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) had claimed responsibility for the killings.

Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province by area, is plagued by extremist militancy and sectarian violence, as well as a regional insurgency waged by separatist militants.