PESHAWAR: A key commander of the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was among five militants killed Thursday night in a blast at a compound in lower Orakzai tribal region.

Official sources said the explosion took place inside a house in Out Mela area of Orakzai agency, destroying the building and killing the five suspected militants inside.

Sources said that a key militant commander Amir Salam was among the dead.

Orakzai agency was known to be a stronghold of Taliban militants and a key abode of former TTP chief Hakimullah Mehsud before he was killed in a US drone strike in North Waziristan.

Two Pakistani soldiers killed in IED blast

Security forces have been battling militants in Orakzai for years, and claim to have dislodged their bases in upper and lower Orakzai during three years of military operations in the region.