PESHAWAR: At least four people were killed Saturday when a female suicide bomber detonated her explosives outside a hospital in Khar, the main town in the restive Bajaur tribal region.

Local administration official Asad Sarwar confirmed the attacker was woman.

“The woman, in her early 20s, blew up her explosives as she walked to the main entrance of the hospital. Authorities have found the attackers head and legs and are conducting a detailed investigation,” said Sarwar, an assistant political agent in the tribal region.

Officials said the bomber apparently targeted security men guarding the hospital.

Hospital officials said four other people were also injured in the bombing.

Agency health officer, Mohd Riaz, said the dead included one security personnel and two civilians, while one of the dead was a hospital worker.

Bajaur is one of seven districts in Pakistan’s semi-autonomous tribal belt, where Taliban militants are said to have carved out strongholds.

This is not the first time a woman has carried out a suicide attack in Bajaur.

In December 2010, burqa-clad woman blew up her explosives at a United Nations food distribution point in Khar, killing 45 people. The bombing, for which the Taliban claimed responsibility, was the first suicide attack by a woman in the agency.