Eleven lost their lives after an improvised explosive device (IED) placed under a truck transporting construction workers to the North Waziristan region of Pakistan exploded on Sunday, according to local authorities.
"They were working at an army post that is under construction ... an IED exploded under a vehicle carrying the laborers," North Waziristan's deputy commissioner Rehan Khattak told media persons.
The development was also confirmed by Pakistan's interim Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar on social media, who called the attack a "senseless act of violence" on innocent laborers.
"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," he wrote on Twitter.
Rising Incidents of Terrorism in Pakistan
The killings are the latest addition to a growing list of terrorist incidents in Pakistan in the past few months, especially since the proscribed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)* unilaterally ended its ceasefire with the federal government last November.
Militant raids have largely targeted Pakistan's cities and regions that are close to the Afghan border, and Islamabad has often blamed the TTP for carrying out these assaults.
Moreover, Pakistani law enforcers have repeatedly claimed that TTP militants are planning attacks on the neighboring country from their Afghan hide-outs, something the Taliban** rulers in Kabul have rebuffed on many occasions.
This has resulted in tense ties between the once close allies, with Islamabad warning Kabul of launching a military campaign inside Afghan territory if the Taliban failed to uproot terrorist groups who are acting against Pakistani interests in the region.
* a terrorist organization banned in Russia and India.
* The Taliban is under UN sanctions for extremism.