QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) -Dozens of people rescued from a train hijacked by separatist militants in southwestern Pakistan arrived on Thursday in the city of Quetta, hours after security forces killed all 33 attackers to end a day-long standoff.

The separatist Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility for attacking the train carrying 440 passengers in a tunnel in a remote part of Balochistan. Spokesman Jeeyand Baloch had said the group was ready to free passengers if authorities agree to release jailed militants.

Baloch separatists have repeatedly attacked the Jaffar Express in the last few years. It is commonly used by security personnel, mostly from Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces. The last major attack on the train took place in November when a suicide bomber detonated himself at the Quetta railway station as it prepared to depart.

ISLAMABAD — Pakistan’s neglected southwestern province of Balochistan has been the scene of a yearslong insurgency, with a dramatic uptick in attacks in recent years underscoring the struggles the government in Islamabad faces in dealing with myriad security threats.

The Jaffar Express was packed with 440 people, including women and children, and was on a 1,000-mile journey to the city of Peshawar when it was hijacked by militants.

Dozens of people rescued from a train hijacked by separatist militants in southwestern Pakistan arrived on Thursday in the city of Quetta, hours after

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visited Balochistan province on Thursday, as dozens of people rescued from a train hijacked by separatist militants arrived in Quetta after security forces killed 33 attackers to end a day-long standoff.