11 labourers killed in bomb attack in Pakistan

Eleven labourers were killed in a bomb blast in northwestern Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan, a local government official said on Sunday.

The device exploded after being attached to the vehicle they were travelling in on Saturday evening, Rehman Gul Khattak, senior government official for North Waziristan, said in a statement.

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

Amir Muhammad Khan, a senior police official in the area, confirmed the bomb blast and the number of casualties to AFP.

"Heartbreaking to know about the terrorist attack in North Waziristan which claimed the lives of 11 innocent laborers. 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.

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

The militant 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, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), has waged a growing campaign against security officials, including police officers.