The bomber blew himself up outside the Shah Mansoor compound of police offices and residences in Swabi, 100 kilometres northwest of Islamabad.

“Two policemen were martyred and 10 others were injured when a suicide bomber exploded himself after being stopped at the main gate,” senior police official Abdullah Khan told AFP.

Five persons allegedly attacked the Shah Mansoor Police Lines, DawnNews reported.

According to the Deputy Police Officer Swabi, just after the blast, heavy fire was exchanged between police and the alleged terrorists. One militant was shot dead but the other three escaped.

According to police officials, the area has been cordoned off.

More than 3,740 people have been killed in suicide attacks and bombings, blamed on homegrown Taliban and other extremist networks, since government troops stormed a radical mosque in Islamabad three years ago.

According to the Pakistani military, 2,421 army and paramilitary soldiers were killed and 7,195 wounded in fighting with extremist militants from 2002 until April this year. —Agencies