(MENAFN) At least three law enforcement officers perished in an explosion striking a police vehicle in northwestern Pakistan, authorities confirmed Wednesday.

The detonation struck the Paniyala area of Dera Ismail Khan district when militants targeted a police van, a police official at the district police emergency control room informed media by telephone.

"So far, three police personnel, including a sub-inspector, have been killed. However, we are still determining the nature of the blast—whether it was an IED (improvised explosive device) or a direct attack," the official said.

This marked the third assault on police and civilian administration within the region during the preceding 72 hours. Tuesday witnessed four fatalities, including a senior district government official and two policemen, in a militant ambush on Bannu-Miranshah Road in Bannu district. Monday saw one policeman killed and six additional officers wounded in a suicide bombing targeting security forces in Lakki Marwat.

Southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have chronically experienced militant attacks, as the South Asian nation has confronted escalating violence in recent years.

Separately, the Pakistan army announced late Tuesday that at least seven militants were eliminated during an intelligence-based operation executed in the North Waziristan area.

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