Deadly bomb blast targets labourers in Northwestern Pakistan

At least 13 labourers have been killed and several others injured in a landmine explosion in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal region near Afghanistan’s border, an official said.

The incident took place in the restive North Waziristan tribal district, where a van carrying over a dozen laborers hit a landmine in the Shawal area on Saturday night, the district administrative head Rehan Gul told reporters.

"The labourers were working at an under-construction post for the Pakistan army," Khattack said.

District police chief Naik Muhammad confirmed the death toll, saying two labourers were also injured in the so-called "terrorist attack."

Earlier, the police had put the death toll at 11.

"Heartbreaking to know about the terrorist attack in North Waziristan which claimed the lives of 11 innocent labourers. Strongly condemn this senseless act of violence and stand in solidarity with the families affected," caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.

There were no immediate details about the claim of responsibility.

Pakistan has seen a sharp rise in terrorist attacks since the Afghan Taliban surged back to power in neighbouring Afghanistan in 2021.

The terrorist assaults have been focused in regions abutting Afghanistan, and Islamabad alleges some are being planned on Afghan soil — a charge Kabul denies.

Pakistan's home-grown Taliban group, Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), has waged a growing campaign against security officials, including police officers.

In January, a suicide bomber linked to Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan blew himself up in a mosque inside a police compound in the northwestern city of Peshawar, killing more than 80 officers.

Horrific incident

Last month, Daesh claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing that killed at least 54 people, including 23 children, at a political party gathering ahead of elections due later this year.

Around 400 members of the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-F (JUI-F) party — a key government coalition partner led by a firebrand cleric — had gathered for a convention when a bomber detonated a vest packed with explosives and ball bearings near the front stage.

Pakistan was once plagued by almost daily bombings, but a major military clearance operation in the former tribal areas starting in 2014 largely restored order.

The seven remote districts that border Afghanistan, of which North Waziristan is one, were later brought under the control of Pakistani authorities after the passage of legislation in 2018.

Analysts say militants in the former tribal areas have become emboldened since the return of the Afghan Taliban.