Bomb blast kills 10 labourers in southwest Pakistan

Ten labourers were killed on Friday when their vehicle was hit by a blast from an improvised explosive device (IED) in southwest Pakistan, an official said. 

Security forces have been battling a decades-long insurgency by separatist groups in impoverished Balochistan, with violence in the border regions surging over the past three years.  

On Friday, a group of labourers were travelling to a market in Harnai district when it was hit by the blast, said local government official Saleem Tareen, adding that it was "an IED blast". 

"Ten mine workers were killed in an attack in Harnai district," added Shahzad Zahri, another senior government official.

Harnai is over 160 kilometres from Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province in southwestern Pakistan. 

In a statement, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reaffirmed his "commitment to actively working towards eradicating the menace of terrorism from the country".

No group has claimed the attack. 

However, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) is the most active group in the region and often carries out deadly attacks against security forces or Pakistanis from other provinces.

The group has also targeted energy projects with foreign financing -- most notably from China -- accusing outsiders of exploiting the resource-rich region while excluding residents in the poorest part of Pakistan.