More than 340 train passengers taken hostage by a militant group were freed Wednesday by security forces after a 30-hour siege, an army official told AFP, confirming that 27 off-duty soldiers were shot by militants. Pakistan security forces launched a rescue mission Tuesday afternoon after a separatist group bombed a railway track in mountainous southwest Balochistan and stormed a train with around 450 passengers on board. Meanwhile, the bodies of at least 25 people, including 21 hostages, killed in the train siege were retrieved from the site on Thursday ahead of the first funerals, officials said. n18oc_world n18oc_crux