At least three brick kiln workers were killed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Laki Marwat when unidentified men opened fire at them on Monday, police said.

The bodies were shifted to the district headquarters hospital for medico-legal formalities. Police have launched an investigation into the incident and have collected evidence from the crime scene. The motive behind the killings was still unclear.

Lakki Marwat and neighbouring Bannu district have been the hotspots in the northwest province after a rise in terrorist activities in Pakistan. In 2022, the Counter-Terrorism Department centre in Bannu was cleared after a four-day siege where militants took law enforcers hostage at the facility.

Last month, seven soldiers, including a captain, were martyred when an improvised explosive device exploded on the security forces vehicle in Lakki Marwat.

Pakistan has long maintained that Afghan soil was being used against Pakistan, demanding interim Taliban government take action against outlawed groups in the country.

In December 2023, at least five labourers were killed when unidentified men were shot dead while they were sleeping in a tent in South Waziristan.