In Pakistan, at least 11 labourers were killed and seven others critically injured when a bomb exploded in the Shahrag area of Harnai, Balochistan.
The bomb was planted at the roadside which exploded when truck carting coal miners reached the site. The security forces cordoned off the area as the bodies of the killed and the injured were shifted to the hospital.
Hospital authorities confirmed the number of fatalities, out of which, at least nine were brought to the hospital dead, while two succumbed to their injuries.
The Shahrag area of Harnai, Balochistan has witnessed multiple incidents of bomb blasts in the past. It is believed that the bomb blasts were targeted at disrupting the mining work going on in the area as the majority of deceased in the blasts were coal miners.
The other suspected reason for targeting coal miners is that the workers were not Balochistan natives. As per the Mines Department, the majority of the killed coal miners belong to Swat and Shangla of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
No militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack. However, the separatist group from Balochistan, BLA (Baloch Liberation Army) has been active in carrying out similar attacks in the past. The Balochistan provincial government condemned the attack and announced that an immediate investigation had been launched.
