PESHAWAR: A pro-government tribal elder was killed on Thursday in a blast in Bajaur tribal agency's Chamarkand tehsil.

According to security sources, the blast was caused by a planted improvised explosive device (IED) which led to the demise of tribal elder Malik Gul Rahim.

Banned militant outfit Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed the responsibility for the killing in a statement issued by its spokesman Khalid Khurasani.

The attack comes days after two tribal elders were killed in Bajaur Agency's Uthmankhel tehsil. Tribal elders Malik Dawa Khan and Malik Gul Kareem Khan were travelling to the region's main town of Khar along with their relatives when a remote-controlled bomb blew up their vehicle.

Read: Two tribal elders among three killed

Bajaur, a tribal region in Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata), is governed by tribal laws. An extremist insurgency led by the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) plagues the region and the area is known to be infested with militants, including those from Al Qaeda and other armed extremist organisations.

Several attacks on polio vaccination workers, peace committee members and suicide bombings have taken place in the tribal region in the past few years.