NNA – At least 11 labourers have been killed in an attack in Pakistanrsquo;s northwestern tribal region when an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded under their vehicle, government officials said.
The attack in North Waziristanrsquo;s Shawal Valley, 300km (190 miles) southwest of capital Islamabad, was confirmed by Pakistanrsquo;s caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar in a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.
ldquo;They were working at an army post that is under construction hellip; an IED exploded under a vehicle carrying the labourers,rdquo; deputy commissioner of North Waziristan, Rehan Khattak, told Reuters news agency.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the blast.
Pakistan has seen a resurgence of attacks by armed groups since last year, when anbsp;ceasefirenbsp;between the outlawed group Pakistan Taliban, known by the acronym TTP, and the government broke down.
Other armed groups, including ISIL (ISIS), have alsonbsp;claimednbsp;responsibility for some attacks, including anbsp;large blastat a political rally in Khyber Pakhtunkhwarsquo;s Bajaur district held by a religious group last month that killed 63. The Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP or ISIS-K), an ISIL affiliate, was said to be behind the attack.
Pakistan blames Afghanistan
Islamabad hasnbsp;blamed Kabulnbsp;for a string of deadly attacks in Pakistanrsquo;s tribal region bordering Afghanistan. Top Pakistani officials accuse the Taliban administration of not doing enough to control the movement of armed groups from crossing the porous border.
However, the Taliban administration has rejected the Pakistani allegations.
ldquo;After the recent security incident in Pakistan, officials have once again blamed Afghans instead of strengthening the security of their country,rdquo; Zabihullah Mujahid, chief spokesman for the Taliban administration, said in a statement earlier this month.
More than 300 attacks have hit Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province this year alone, according to official data, with a vast majority of them claimed by the TTP.
The TTP was founded in 2007 and is ideologically aligned with the Afghan Taliban, but it appears to operate independently.
Among its many demands, the Pakistan Taliban seeks stricter enforcement of Islamic laws, the release of its members in government custody, and a reduced Pakistani military presence in parts of the tribal regions along the Afghan border. — AL JAZZEERA AND NEWS AGENCIESnbsp;
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