PESHAWAR: At least three security personnel were killed when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) went off on Wednesday in Sandana area of Khyber Agency's Tirah Valley.

According to a security official, the bomb which had been planted on a roadside, exploded when security personnel were on a routine patrol of the area, where the army is currently involved in Operation Khyber-2.

As a result of the IED attack, three security personnel, including a Pakistan Army captain were killed in the attack.

The area is off-limits to journalists, making it difficult to independently verify the number and identity of the dead.

Khyber Agency is included in Pakistan’s seven semi-autonomous regions governed by tribal laws and lies near the Afghan border. The Taliban and other Al Qaeda-linked groups who stage attacks in both Pakistan and Afghanistan are also known to have strongholds in the zone.

Pakistan suffers frequent bomb and suicide attacks blamed on extremist militant groups and troops have for years been fighting homegrown armed groups in the tribal belt.