MIRAMSHAH: At least five soldiers were killed and 34 others injured when a suicide bomber rammed an explosives-laden vehicle into a mosque at a security checkpost in North Waziristan on Wednesday evening.

According to officials, the bomber rammed his mini-truck loaded with explosives into the roadside mosque at the Khajori post, some 40km east of Miramshah, the administrative headquarters of the tribal agency adjacent to Afghanistan.

“Around 40 to 50 soldiers of the army and Frontier Corps were offering Maghrib prayer in the mosque when the explosion took place,” an official said. Five bodies were retrieved from the debris and 34 injured rescued, he said.

Khajori is a major checkpost on the Bannu-Miramshah road that is jointly manned by army and paramilitary forces. The post was also attacked in February 2008 when nine soldiers were killed.

The injured were taken to a military hospital in Bannu. According to reports, six of them were army men and 28 FC personnel. Local people said curfew had been imposed in North Waziristan since morning for the protection of military convoys.

According to AFP, Ansarul Mujahideen, a militant group linked to the TTP, claimed responsibility for the attack.