On Thursday, unknown armed men kidnapped at least 16 labourers who were employed at a uranium and plutonium mining site in the unrest-plagued province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan, according to sources.

The workers were kidnapped from a car on its way to the Lakki Marwat district's Atomic Energy Mine Project location. The kidnappers later burned the car in the vicinity of Qabal Khel. The workers were moved by the gunmen to an unidentified area. No group has taken responsibility for the abduction. However, the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which is active in the area, has been accused of carrying out similar abductions in the past.

Founded in 2007 as a coalition of various terrorist groups, the TTP is thought to have ties to al-Qaeda. In Pakistan, the group has been held accountable for a number of fatal attacks. This event demonstrates how the security situation in the area is getting worse. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Home Department warned of higher risks owing to rising terrorist activity in a July travel advisory for government officials and employees in the Bannu Division. The advisory highlighted an increase in targeted attacks on law enforcement, including abductions and assassinations, especially in regions like Tank, Dera Ismail Khan, Lakki Marwat and Bannu.

In late August, three workers from Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited (SNGPL) were kidnapped from Baka Khel, Bannu. Seven police officers from Bannu were kidnapped in November, but they were rescued unharmed a few days later. The recent kidnapping has sparked concerns about government workers' safety and the necessity of more stringent security measures in the area.