WANA, March 27: Six young children were injured when a school bus hit a landmine in tribal area early on Monday, officials said. Two of the victims aged between five and eight were seriously hurt. They were rushed to hospital after the blast in Shakai town, 25 kilometres north of Wana, the main town in South Waziristan region, a local official said

The vehicle was badly damaged, the official said on condition of anonymity.

“Six children from Suffa Public School in Shakai were wounded, two of them seriously,” he said.

He blamed militants for the attack, adding that the device had likely been planted to target security vehicles.

Militants also launched rockets at the airport in Miramshah, but there were no casualties or damage in the attack late on Sunday, a security official said.

One rocket landed on the runway close to where six military helicopters were parked, he said.

Troops shelled suspected militant positions in the surrounding mountains to retaliate, but there were no reports of any casualties, he added.—AFP