MIRAMSHAH, April 16: A powerful bomb struck a Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) vehicle bringing back soldiers to barracks after the routine work on Tuesday in Sedgai area of North Waziristan, killing seven soldiers and injuring 18 others. Five of the injured were in critical condition.

Official sources said that all injured soldiers and bodies of the personnel were taken to a military hospital in Bannu. The administration imposed an indefinite curfew in the area.

There were conflicting reports about the nature of the blast, with one report saying an improvised explosive device targeted the vehicle of the FWO, a subsidiary of the army executing development projects in the area. The other suggested a suicide bomber rammed his explosive-laden vehicle into the military truck.

This was the second bomb attack on security forces in North Waziristan over the past few weeks.