KHAR: A bomb explosion Saturday killed two members of a pro-government aman lashkar (militia) and wounded four others during an archaeological dig in the tribal Bajaur region close to the Afghanistan border, officials said.

The incident took place in the mountainous area of Darra in Salarzai tehsil, 30 kilometres northeast of Khar, the main town of Bajaur agency.

“About a dozen members of the local peace committee were digging at an excavation site when a remote controlled bomb went off, killing two members and wounding four others,” senior local administration official Sardar Yousuf said.

The men belonged to the Salarzai peace committee, a local tribal militia supported by the government to fight Taliban and anti-state militants.

The group was digging in the area to look for antiquities.

Another local administration official Asad Sarwar also confirmed the incident and casualties.

The injured were shifted to agency headquarters hospital in Khar.

No militant group has yet accepted responsibility for the explosion.