11 labourers killed in militant attack in Northwestern Pakistan: Caretaker PM Kakar

Peshawar (Pakistan) August 20

Eleven labourers were killed in a militant attack in Northwestern Pakistan, caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-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 Pakhtunkwa 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.