8 killed in blast in NW Pakistan

At least eight people were killed and four others injured in a blast that hit Pakistan's northwest tribal area of Khyber Agency bordering Afghanistan on Sunday, reported local media. Local Urdu TV channel Aaj said that the blast took place early Sunday morning in the Tirah Vally area of Khyber Agency and it was a remote-control blast. The target of the blast is local pro-government peace militiamen, it said, adding that the clashes between the militants and the local peace militiamen started late last night and early this morning. There have been a series of clashes between the militants and the security forces in the afore-said area over the last couple of days. Earlier on Friday morning, the Pakistani army launched an attack at two militants' hideouts in Khyber Agency with the backup of gunship helicopters, killing five militants and wounding eight others. In retaliation, militants attacked a vehicle of security forces with a remote-control bomb, killing three security personnel and injuring two others. Later on Friday night, clashes between the militants and the security forces broke out again in the area, in which 17 militants were killed and one soldier as well as three local peace militiamen also died in the clashes.