Suicide bombers wound six soldiers in separate attacks

Peshawar: A suicide bomber drove his explosives-packed vehicle toward an army convoy but soldiers opened fire, unleashing an explosion that wounded four troops and killed the attacker in volatile northwest Pakistan yesterday.

The attack occurred in Bara town, not far from North West Frontier Province's main city, Peshawar, said government official Hafeez Khan.

The four troops wounded in the blast were in stable condition in a hospital, a military statement revealed.

The military also said another suicide bomber blew himself up yesterday and wounded two troops as they conducted a raid on an insurgent hide-out in the Swat Valley.

Another militant also died in the explosion, it said in a statement.

The northwest has seen a spate of recent attacks. Twenty-two people were killed and more than 150 people wounded last Saturday in two suicide car bombings.

Pakistan is battling Al Qaida and Taliban militants close to the border it shares with Afghanistan which has also been blamed for scores of attacks over the last two years.

The insurgents are linked to those in Afghanistan, where violence against Nato and US troops is running at record levels.