UPDATE - Suicide blast kills at least 5 in northern Pakistan

UPDATES WITH SECURITY OPERATION KILLING 5 SUSPECTED MILITANTS, ARRESTING SEVERAL OTHERS

By Islamudin Sajid and Aamir Latif

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AA) - At least five people, including three security personnel, were killed and three others wounded Wednesday in a suicide blast in northern Pakistan's Mohmand Agency, according to Mohmand Agency Assistant Political Agent Hamidullah Khan.

"One suicide bomber blew himself up once spotted and challenged by security agencies at the gate of Political Agent's office while other was shot by the security personnel at the gate," added the Inter-Services Public Relations, the media wing of the Pakistan Armed Forces.

A local administration official, Wajid Khan, told Anadolu Agency over the phone that security personnel fired on suicide bombers when they tried to enter the administration offices.

"One suicide bomber blew himself up while another one was killed by armed forces," Khan said.

Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a splinter faction of the Pakistani Taliban's main group Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), has claimed responsibility for the Mohmand Agency attack.

Asad Mansur, a purported spokesman for the militant group involved in Monday's blast in Lahore, which killed over a dozen people, claimed in a statement that "several" troops were killed in Wednesday's attack. His claim could not be verified.

Security forces killed five suspected militants during a search operation launched after Wednesday's attack, local Dunya TV reported quoting unnamed security officials.

The killed suspects are believed to have been the handlers of the two suicide bombers. Several other suspects have also been taken into custody, the channel reported.

Mohmand Agency, a Pakistani tribal area bordering Afghanistan, is one of the volatile districts in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.