MIRAMSHAH, Sept 1: Nine security personnel were killed and 10 others injured in a bomb attack near Miramshah, the administrative headquarters of North Waziristan tribal region, on Sunday, officials said.

A military convoy was heading to Miramshah from Datakhel when one of the vehicles was hit by the remote-controlled bomb on the Boya Road.

They said three soldiers were killed on the spot and several others suffered multiple injuries.

Later, an official said that six more personnel had died, raising the death toll to nine. The injured were taken to a military hospital in Bannu.

Security forces backed by helicopter gunships conducted a search operation in the area after the incident, but no arrest was reported.

The political administration imposed a curfew in the area and main roads leading to the area remained closed.

In another incident, several rockets were fired on a military checkpost near Mirali on Saturday night, but no casualty or damage to property was reported.

AFP adds: “At least nine soldiers embraced shahadat [martyrdom] and 19 others were injured in an explosion caused by an improvised explosive device,” said a senior security official.

The convoy was carrying regular soldiers and members of the paramilitary Frontier Corps, he added.

On Saturday, three militants were killed in a US drone strike in Mirali area.

Militant groups, including the Taliban and Al Qaeda, operate in the volatile tribal region.