At least 26 people were killed and about 50 others injured in a suicide attack on a train station in southwestern Pakistan, officials said.

While about 100 passengers were waiting on a platform in Quetta on Saturday for a train to the garrison city of Rawalpindi, a suicide bomber detonated an explosive that blew off the roof of the train station, destroyed a nearby tea stall and scattered luggage among the debris.

Quetta Sandeman District Hospital spokesman said 26 people have died so far due to the explosion.

It was stated that 14 of the dead were soldiers and 12 civilians.

At the hospital, Muhammad Irfan had to identify two of his relatives who died in the bombing.

“When we woke up, we found out there was an explosion,” he said.

“Then we learned that my uncle and another relative of mine had gone to the station for tea.”

The hospital spokesman stated that 46 security guards and 14 civilians were injured.

Police added that some of the seriously injured passengers died in hospital, increasing the death toll.

Muhammed Oumer, who was injured in the explosion, said that he went to the station to catch the train to his village.

“But when we arrived, there was an explosion and I found myself injured and in the hospital,” he said.

Mouzzam Jah Ansari, inspector general of police in Balochistan province, said the bomber probably targeted “army personnel at the Infantry School” at the busy railway station.

The Balochistan Liberation Army separatist group claimed responsibility for the attack, confirming that a suicide bomber had targeted soldiers at the railway station.

Mohammed Baloch, senior superintendent in charge of police operations, said separatists often attack soft targets.

“They also attack in retaliation when they are arrested,” he said.

“We all have to fight this battle. We are resilient. Our teams are here and trying to save as many lives as possible.”

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the bomb attack in his statement, stating that those who organized the attack “will pay a heavy price for it” and stated that the security forces are determined to eliminate the “terrorist threat”.

Pakistan is grappling with an increase in attacks by separatist militants in the southern province of Balochistan and Islamist militants in the northwest.

The outlawed BLA has long been waging an insurgency seeking independence from Islamabad.

Decades of insurgency have destabilized Balochistan and created security concerns for projects seeking to access the province’s untapped resources.

The BLA is the largest of several ethnic rebel groups fighting the government, saying it uses the province’s rich gas and mineral resources unfairly.

At least 73 people died in Balochistan in August after separatist militants attacked police stations, railway lines and highways.

ABC/wires