Police van attacked in Pakistan, 9 killed

By OUR PAKISTAN CORRESPONDENT with agency inputs

Islamabad

Aug. 28: At least nine people including six policemen were killed and 12 others injured when a police van was blown up near Karam bridge in Bannu district on Thursday, the police said.

The van carrying the policemen and jail staff was on its way to jail from police lines when the blast took place.

"It is not immediately clear whether it was a suicide attack or road side bomb blast. A severely damaged car has been recovered from the site of explosion," a police official said. "The death toll may rise further as several persons have sustained critical injuries," he said. Besides policemen, some local government officials were also travelling in the vehicle.

Meanwhile, Pakistani troops on Thursday killed five militants in attacks on Taliban hideouts in a northwestern region near the Afghan border, security officials said. Troops fired mortar and artillery shells on several villages in Bajaur district in which five rebels died and seven were wounded, a security official said.

On Wednesday troops killed upto 50 militants in the area, including some important Taliban commanders and foreign fighters. Pakistani forces for the past three weeks have been engaged in operations to destroy militant bases in Bajaur in which more than 500 people, mostly militants, have been killed according to official count.