BANNU, May 6: A suicide bomber blew himself up at a checkpoint in Bannu on Tuesday, killing a constable and two civilians and injuring 12 others, including four army soldiers and four policemen.

The incident took place just before the arrival of NWFP Governor Owais Ahmed Ghani in the garrison town.

According to eyewitnesses, the bomber blew himself up when police stopped an auto-rickshaw at the checkpoint near the office of an intelligence agency.

Constable Naeem Khan, rickshaw driver Rehan and a passerby, identified as Rafiaz Khan, were killed. Police said that the bomber had been blown to pieces. His mutilated head and legs were found at the blast site.

The injured security personnel were identified as ASI Waheed Iqbal, Havaldar Tariq, soldiers Zahidullah, Allah Datta and Shafi and constables Arshad, Safdar, Naimaullah, Rehan Khan and Aurang Zeb, and the civilians as Farooq, Sikander Khan, Isam Jana, a woman, and Sawaira, a girl.They were taken to DHO and CMH Hospital in Bannu. Two critically injured people were taken to a hospital in Peshawar.

Our Correspondent adds from Nowshera: Inspector General of Police Malik Naveed Khan told reporters that it was a suicide attack.

No group had claimed responsibility for the blast till Tuesday evening. It was the second suicide attack in the province after Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan chief Baitullah Mehsud declared a ceasefire on April 24.

On April 25, a car bomb ripped through a police station in Mardan, killing three people and wounding dozens others.