Three Pakistani soldiers and an anti-Taliban fighter were killed on
Sunday in two separate bomb attacks in Pakistan, officials said.
The
first incident took place in Salarzai town, about 20 kilometres (12
miles) northeast of Khar, the main city in Bajaur tribal district along
the Afghan border when a remote-controlled bomb hit a shop, killing an
anti-Taliban militiaman and wounding three others, an official said.
The injured were two other anti-Taliban fighters and a passer-by, senior government official Faaz Mohammad told AFP
"The bomb destroyed the shop and killed one anti-Taliban fighter," the official said.
Bajaur
is a part of Pakistan's seven tribal districts which are rife with
homegrown insurgents and are strongholds of Taliban and Al-Qaeda
operatives.
Pakistan has for years battled homegrown insurgents
in the tribal belt. More than 3,000 soldiers have died but Pakistan has
resisted US pressure to do more to eliminate havens used by insurgents.
The
second incident took place when a roadside buried landmine hit a
vehicle in the country's southwest on Sunday, killing three soldiers, a
security official said.
The incident occured near Sui town, some 400 kilometres southwest of Quetta, capital of Baluchistan province.
"Troops
were patrolling in the area. Three soldiers were killed and two were
injured. It was a landmine blast," a spokesman for paramilitary
Frontier Corps told AFP.
The troubled Baluchistan province which
neighbours both Afghanistan and Iran and is gripped by a regional
insurgency for self-determination. It is also a flashpoint for Taliban
and sectarian violence. AFP
