At least 24 people have been killed in a blast targeting a train carrying military personnel in Pakistan’s restive southwestern province of Balochistan, according to a senior official.

Army servicemen were among those killed in the provincial capital, Quetta, on Sunday in the attack, which wounded more than 50 people.

The official said the train was passing the Chaman Pattak signal in Quetta “when an explosive-laden car hit one of the carriages that resulted in a big blast”.

The force of the explosion caused two carriages of the train to overturn and catch fire, sending thick black smoke billowing into the sky.

The attack took place in an area where security forces are usually stationed, badly damaging several nearby buildings and shattering more than a dozen vehicles parked along the road.

The Balochistan Liberation Army separatist group claimed responsibility for the attack.