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Militant attack kills 11 labourers in Pakistan - caretaker PM

18:48 pm on 20 August 2023

Pakistan's caretaker prime minister Anwar ul Haq Kakar. Photo: AFP / Pakistan's Press Information Department (PID)

By Jibran Ahmad for Reuters

Eleven labourers were killed in a militant attack in Northwestern Pakistan, caretaker prime minister Anwar ul Haq Kakar said on Sunday in a post on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

Security and police officials in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province said a suspected improvised explosive device detonated, tearing through a truck carrying the workers to a construction project in Waziristan, near the Afghan border.

"They were working at an army post that is under construction ... an IED exploded under a vehicle carrying the labourers," deputy commissioner of North Waziristan, Rehan Khattak said.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the blast.

Pakistan has seen a resurgence of attacks by Islamist militants since last year when a ceasefire between the Pakistani Taliban, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the government broke down.

Other groups including the Islamic State have also claimed responsibility for some attacks, including a large blast at a political rally in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa held by a religious group last month that killed 45.

- Reuters