7 policemen killed in blast in NW Pakistan

Seven police personnel were killed after an explosion struck a police vehicle in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, police said on Friday, reported Xinhua.

A police squad was on routine patrol duty when their vehicle was targeted with an improvised explosive device in the Lakki Marwat district of the province, Qudratullah, a spokesman of the district police told the media.

He said that the law enforcement personnel were the target of the blast, which killed five policemen on the spot and injured several others.

Two of the injured officers later succumbed to their injuries at a hospital in the district, according to hospital sources.

Following the explosion, law enforcement agencies, along with rescue teams, reached the site and cordoned off the area to initiate a preliminary investigation.

No militant group or individual has claimed the attack yet.

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the attack, saying resolve towards eliminating terrorism from the country remained unwavering.