Suicide bomber kills six, gunmen kill two Sikhs in NW Pakistan

A suicide bombing near a security forces vehicle killed three soldiers and three children in northwest Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan yesterday, while gunmen shot dead two minority Sikhs in Peshawar, officials said.

A military statement said the suicide bomber triggered his explosives-laden vest near a vehicle on security patrol in a village near the town of Mir Ali in the tribal district of North Waziristan.

The attack killed two soldiers in the vehicle on the spot and wounded another. Three children playing alongside the road were also critically wounded. All of the wounded were rushed to a hospital in a helicopter but none survived, the statement said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack. The military said security forces and intelligence officials were combing the area searching for the bomber’s handlers.

The region has served as a safe haven for local and foreign militants for years. The military carried out a massive operation after militants attacked an army-run school in Peshawar in 2014 that left over 150 dead, mostly school children.