At least three persons were killed and two others injured when the car they were travelling in hit a landmine in the volatile Orakzai tribal region of northwest Pakistan on Monday, security officials said.
The landmine, believed to have been planted by militants, went off in Taanda village in Orakzai, which has witnessed an upsurge in violence since last week. The blast left three people dead and two injured, security officials said.
It came three days after six Pakistani soldiers, including a lieutenant colonel, were killed in a roadside bomb attack in the region. Security forces had also killed dozens of militants in air and ground assaults launched in the wake of the attack.
In a separate development, security forces and the police, during a joint search operation, killed a suspected militant and arrested 28 others in Hangu district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders the restive Kurram, Khyber and Orakzai tribal regions, authorities said.