SWABI / MIRAMSHAH, Nov 1: A suicide attack on police lines in Swabi killed two policemen and a civilian on Monday. One of the attackers blew himself up while the other was killed by police.

Meanwhile, a US drone strike killed six militants in North Waziristan.

The attack on Shah Mansoor police premises took place at about 9 in the morning. The area houses the Swabi judicial complex and offices of the district nazim and accounts and education and excise and taxation departments.

Initial reports suggested that four suicide bombers had taken part in the attack, but Mardan DIG Abdullah Khan said that there were two bombers. They killed a policeman at the main gate and tried to enter the premises. When a guard opened fire, one of the attackers blew himself up while the other continued firing, the DIG said. “When I saw the suicide bomber who was wearing white clothes I opened fire on him and he returned fire,” police constable Anwar Ali said.

Had the bomber managed to enter the premises there would have been many casualties because about 60 police personnel were there at the time. “Police jawans sacrificed their own lives to save others,” the DIG said. Officials said the blast shook nearby buildings and damaged their windows.

Bomb disposal personnel said that the vests worn by the bombers contained 10 to 12 kilograms of explosives.

The head and parts of the legs of the 18-year-old suicide bomber were found at the site.

Police chased the second attacker and killed him near Punjper Canal.

Acting district police officer Sirajul Hassan told reporters that explosives in the jacket of the second attacker were defused by bomb disposal personnel.

Policemen Said Faroosh and Ghani Subhan and passerby, identified as Sher Afzal, were killed in the attack. The injured were identified as Atif Rahim, Manawar, Mukamil Shah, Faqir Nawab, Abdul Saleem, Munjawar Khan, Shamsher Khan Gul Nazir and Said Nawab.

DRONE ATTACK: Six suspected militants were killed and 10 others injured when US drones fired two missiles on their hideout in Haiderkhel village in Mirali tehsil in North Waziristan early on Monday morning.

According to local people, the missiles hit the guesthouse of tribal elder Humayun. The two-room guesthouse was destroyed and six militants, one of them from South Waziristan, were killed. The injured were taken to nearby private hospitals.

Local tribesmen rushed to the place and retrieved the bodies and the injured from the rubble.

Meanwhile, a seven-year-old schoolboy was shot dead by security personnel near his house on Miramshah-Bannu road for allegedly violating curfew.

Local people condemned what they called a brutal murder and demanded an inquiry. They also called for exemplary punishment for soldiers who had opened fire on the boy.

Agencies add: Taliban militants fired at two Nato tankers near the town of Pabbi on the GT Road on Monday, wounding three people, police said.

“Around eight militants in two cars intercepted two oil tankers and fired at them with Kalashnikovs,” local police official Hayat Khan said.

“Two drivers and a helper were wounded and taken to hospital in Peshawar.

Their condition is stable now,” the official said, adding that oil leaked from the tankers, but did not catch fire.

Intelligence officials in Peshawar confirmed the attack and said the attackers had fled the scene.