Militants Abduct 16 Government Employees in Northwest Pakistan

Militants kidnapped at least 16 government employees on Thursday in the Lakki Marwat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, VOA reported. The hostages, workers for a mining project linked to the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC), were ambushed while commuting to work. The assailants, identified as members of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), set the minibus on fire after taking the men hostage.

A video released by the TTP showed some captives urging authorities to meet the militants’ demands for their release. Police later reported that an ongoing operation had freed eight hostages, with three injured, one critically. The PAEC focuses on the peaceful use of atomic energy in various sectors.

This incident follows a separate attack by the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) in Balochistan, highlighting the rising violence in regions bordering Afghanistan, where both the TTP and BLA claim to operate from safe havens. The TTP is designated as a global terrorist organization by the United Nations.