Islamabad, Feb 10 (IANS) At least 12 tribal paramilitary troopers and three civilians were killed when a suicide bomber targeted their vehicle in Pakistan’s restive northwest Wednesday, officials said.
Thirteen troopers of the paramilitary Khasadar Force were injured in the attack in the Khyber agency’s Jamrud district in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) along the Afghanistan border.

Among those killed was Zarmud Khan Afridi, an officer of the Khasadar Force, who was playing a key role in the ongoing military action against the insurgents in the area and who had received death threats from the militants, Online news agency reported.

Eyewitnesses said that the suicide bomber appeared from a nearby mosque and blew himself up as the Khasadar Force was passing on the road.

The police said that 10 to 15 kg of explosives was used in the blast.

The injured were shifted to the Hayat Abad medical complex.

Elsewhere in the Khyber agency, a Pakistani Army Aviation helicopter crashed Wednesday and its pilot and gunner were feared killed.

The helicopter crashed near the Tirah valley of the Khyber agency while on a routine mission, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.

An army spokesman said that the pilot and gunner of the helicopter were missing but locals of the Tirah Valley said both had been killed

According to initial investigations, the crash occurred due to a technical fault. Other sources said that inclement weather could have caused the crash.

The Khyber agency, along the border with Afghanistan, is one of the areas where the Pakistani military is currently engaged in a major offensive against the Taliban.