By Saleem Ahmed
QUETTA, Pakistan (Reuters) -At least 24 people were killed and more than 40 injured in a bomb blast on Saturday at a railway station in the city of Quetta in southwestern Pakistan, police and other officials said.
Quetta is the capital of Balochistan province, which is grappling with a surge in strikes by separatist ethnic militants that has raised security concerns for projects aiming to develop the province's untapped mineral resources.
Inspector general of police for Balochistan Mouzzam Jah Ansari said 24 people have died so far from the blast at the railway station, which is usually busy early in the day when the explosion took place.
"The target was army personnel from the Infantry School," he said, with many of the injured in critical condition.
Quetta Commissioner Hamza Shafqat said 16 soldiers were among the dead.
The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), a separatist militant group, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement emailed to Reuters.
The BLA seeks independence for Balochistan, a province of about 15 million people that borders Afghanistan to the north and Iran to the west. The BLA is the biggest of several ethnic insurgent groups battling the government, saying it unfairly exploits the province's rich gas and mineral resources.
"So far 44 injured people have been brought to civil hospital," Wasim Baig, a hospital spokesperson, told Reuters.
Senior superintendent of police operations, Muhammad Baloch, said the blast seemed to be a suicide bomb and that investigations were underway for more information.
"The blast took place inside the railway station when the Peshawar-bound express was about to leave for its destination," Baloch said.
In August, at least 73 people were killed in Balochistan after separatist militants attacked police stations, railway lines and highways.
The assaults in August were the most widespread in years by militants fighting a decades-long insurgency to win secession for the province, home to major China-led projects such as a port and a gold and copper mine.