PESHAWAR: A pro-government tribal elder was killed on Monday in a remote-controlled improvised explosive device (IED) blast in the Bar Kamar area of Bajaur tribal agency's Mamond tehsil.

According to sources, tribal elder Malak Muhammad Jan was on his way to the Har area when an IED planted on the roadside went off in Bar Kamar.

The pro-government tribal elder and five of his companions died in the blast while the vehicle they were travelling was also severely damaged.

Assistant Political Agent of Bajaur Fiaz Sherpao told DawnNews that the terrorist attack had claimed the lives of six people.

Bajaur is one of the seven districts in Pakistan’s semi-autonomous tribal belt near the Afghan border, where Taliban militants are said to have held strongholds.

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