PESHAWAR: A roadside bomb targeting a police van on Saturday killed three newly recruited policemen and wounded 10 others in northwestern Pakistan, officials said.

The incident took place in Torghar district, a mountainous region of restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where militants frequently attack government officials and troops.

“It was a remote-controlled bomb. The target was the police vehicle. Three police recruits were killed and 10 were injured,” Farid Khan, the district's top police officer, told AFP.

Khalid Umarzai, another senior government official in the area confirmed the incident and the casualties.