KHYBER AGENCY: At least two members of an anti-Taliban militia were killed Friday evening when a roadside bomb exploded in Khyber tribal region, Khyber, one of seven agencies in Pakistan’s semi-autonomous tribal belt bordering Afghanistan, officials said.

Local officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to speak to the media, said the attack in Khyber’s Bara tehsil was carried out through a remote-controlled explosive device.

The bomb, which was planted along the road in Qamber Khel area, exploded as volunteers of the ‘aman lashkar’ passed by in their vehicle – completely destroying the car and killing both militia-men on the spot.

Pakistani Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan, speaking to Dawn.Com from an undisclosed location, confirmed that the banned militant group had targeted the anti-Taliban fighters with a remote controlled improvised explosive device (IED).

Khyber is among Pakistan’s seven tribal districts near the Afghan border which are rife with homegrown insurgents and are alleged to be strongholds of Taliban and al Qaeda operatives.