(AKI) - At least nine people including six policemen died on Thursday when a car bomb exploded near the town of Bannu in restive North West Frontier Province, Pakistan's GEO News TV channel reported. The blast also injured 13.The bomb was planted in a vehicle parked on a bridge and detonated by remote control as a prison van approached, according to sources quoted by GEO News. The force of the explosion caused the van to plunge into a dry portion of the Karam River below, according to GEO News. No prisoners were in the prison van, according to police. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
Bannu is close to the border with Afghanistan, where Islamist militants have been attacking security forces. The Afgan and United States governments claim the area is a haven for pro-Taliban militants and al-Qaeda.