A militant group in Pakistan has taken a train by force and is threatening to blow it up and kill all 182 hostages if their demands are not met.
The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) initially had around 400 hostages, but allowed the Balochistan citizens, as well as women, children, and elderly to walk free. They demand that the Pakistani authorities release all members of their military group who are currently imprisoned, or else the hostages die and the train blows up.
The train had been on its way from the capital of Balochistan province to Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and seems to have been taken in or near a tunnel.
The Jaffar Express passenger train was held in a tunnel and the driver badly wounded in a gun battle earlier on Tuesday, local officials said, without confirming the militants' account about hostages.
Security forces said an explosion had been heard near the tunnel and that they were exchanging fire with the militants in a mountainous area.
Here's video of the explosion:
As far as military strategy goes, this mountainous region the train is in will make it much easier for government forces to come in and take the train back.
The Balochistan Liberation Army is part of a separatist group which seeks independence for Balochistan province, which borders both Afghanistan and Iran.
As you can see, this province is the largest in the country (though it's also the least populated).
The group has had many run-ins with the Pakistani government.
A decades-old insurgency in Balochistan by separatist militant groups has led to frequent attacks against the government, army and Chinese interests in the region, pressing demands for a share in its resources.
The oil- and mineral-rich Balochistan is Pakistan's largest but also least populated province.
It is a hub for the country's ethnic Baloch minority whose members say they face discrimination and exploitation by the central government.
The BLA is the biggest of several ethnic insurgent groups that have battled the South Asian nation's government for decades, saying it unfairly exploits Balochistan's rich gas and mineral resources.
Pakistan strongly condemned the attack and said no concessions will be made.
And it looks like they're getting ready for battle:
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