PESHAWAR: Two security personnel and two peace committee members of Tauheedul Islam were killed and two others injured in a blast in Zakakhel Bazaar of Khyber Agency's Landi Kotal area.

Official sources say that a joint party of security forces and peace committee members was targeted in Painda Cheena area of Zakakhel.

The blast left two security personnel and as many Tauheedul Islam activists dead. One security man was also among those injured in the explosion.

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Rescue and security personnel reached the blast site and began shifting the victims to a nearby hospital.

The security forces launched a search operation soon after the attack. Further details regarding the nature and intensity of the blast were not available till the filing of this report.

Follow-up blast during rescue efforts

At least two more security personnel were injured when another blast occurred in Zakakhel bazaar shortly after the first one,

The security forces were targeted when they were shifting the victims of the first blast.

Security forces also claimed to have arrested ten suspects during a search operation in Jamrud tehsil of Khyber agency.

Khyber is one of Pakistan’s seven semi-autonomous regions governed by tribal laws and lies near the Afghan border. The Taliban and other Al Qaeda-linked groups who stage attacks in both Pakistan and Afghanistan are also known to have strongholds in the zone.

The development comes amid Operation Khyber I which was launched in Khyber tribal agency on credible information about the presence of militants in parts of Sipah and Akkakhel areas, according to Shahab Ali Shah.

Mangal Bagh-led Lashkar-i-Islam has had a strong presence in the areas being targeted in the operation.

Anticipating a military operation in their areas in Tirah valley, hundreds of Akkakhel families had begun leaving their homes in Dars Jumaat, Shaddaly, Darota and Kulla areas of Akkakhel in Tirah valley.

The latest operation was launched amidst 'Zarb-i-Azb', a full-fledged military operation being conducted by the Pakistani military against Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants in North Waziristan tribal region.

Two more killed in lower Orakzai explosion

Two people were killed and six others injured in a roadside blast in Lower Orakzai Agency.

Political administration sources say that the blast occurred in the Mirazai area near the Kalaya Tehsil of Lower Orakzai Agency.

The six injured have been shifted to a local hospital for treatment.