16 labourers abducted in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province

Though no group has claimed responsibility, the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is active in the area and has been blamed for such abductions in the past.

Peshawar: At least 16 labourers were kidnapped by unknown armed men in Pakistan's restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Thursday, local police said.

The labourers working on a government installation have been abducted from a vehicle enroute to a construction site.

Later, the abductors set the vehicle on fire in the Qabal Khel area.

No group claimed responsibility for the abduction.

The banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is active in the area and has been blamed for such abductions in the past.

The TTP, set up as an umbrella group of several militant outfits in 2007, is believed to be close to al-Qaeda. The group has been blamed for several deadly attacks across Pakistan.

Separately, the bomb disposal unit has defused a 25-kilogram bomb planted near Mehboob Ziarat check-post in the Tank district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The bomb was planted on the route on which a security forces convoy was about to move, local Police said.