11 labourers killed in blast in northwest Pakistan

Peshawar, Aug 20: At least 11 labourers were killed and two others injured in a terrorist attack in the restive North Waziristan tribal district in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, bordering Afghanistan, police said on Sunday.

Terrorists detonated explosives near Gul Mir Kot in Shawal tehsil late Saturday night and blew up a vehicle carrying 16 labourers, Deputy Commissioner North Waziristan Rehan Gul Khattak said.

As many as 11 labourers, who worked in an under-construction government building, were killed on the spot while two were critically injured, and three went missing, Khattak said.

Officials said the victims belonged to tehsil Makin and Wana of South Waziristan tribal district. They injured and bodies were shifted to a nearby hospital.

Efforts to identify and locate the missing workers are ongoing, he said.

Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar ul Haq Kakar condemned the attack which claimed the lives of innocent labourers.

“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,” he said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

Meanwhile, earlier on Saturday, four personnel of the Bomb Disposal Squad were seriously injured in the Makin tehsil of Upper South Waziristan after miscreants fired a rocket at their vehicle. (PTI)