At least 24 people were killed this Sunday in a bomb attack on a train carrying military personnel in Pakistan's restive southwestern province of Balochistan.

In recent months, violence has increased in this province bordering Iran, where separatist groups such as the Balochistan Liberation Army, classified as terrorist by the United States, and which claimed responsibility for the attack, operate.

Among the victims of the attack, which occurred in the provincial capital of Quetta, were soldiers, said an official, who also reported more than 50 injuries.

Images from the scene showed a wrecked carriage, which had turned on its side, with people climbing over it in search of survivors. People carried stretchers with blood-soaked victims, while armed personnel stood guard.

Balochistan is the most impoverished province of Pakistan and the largest in area. It lags behind the rest of the country in almost all indicators, such as education, employment and economic development.

Baloch separatists accuse the Pakistani government of exploiting the province's abundant natural gas and mineral resources without the local population benefiting from it.