PESHAWAR: A bomb on Wednesday killed five Pakistani soldiers in restive South Waziristan tribal region near the Afghan border, security officials said.

The explosion took place in a village in the South Waziristan agency, one of seven semi-autonomous tribal areas close to Pakistan's border with Afghanistan.

“Number of martyred soldiers due to IED attack in South Waziristan has risen up to five,” a senior security official told AFP.

Homemade roadside bombs are a major weapon of militants who attack government forces in Pakistan's northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and in the tribal districts.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Wednesday's blast.