(MENAFN) At least three policemen were killed Wednesday when a police van was targeted in an explosion in the Paniyala area of Dera Ismail Khan district, northwestern Pakistan, according to local authorities.

A police official at the district emergency control room told reporters, “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 incident marks the third assault on police and civil administration in the area within three days. On Tuesday, militants attacked the Bannu-Miranshah Road in Bannu district, killing four people, including a senior district official and two policemen. On Monday, a suicide bombing targeting security forces in Lakki Marwat resulted in one death and six injuries.

Southern districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa have long been affected by militant attacks, and the region has seen an increase in such incidents in recent years. Separately, the Pakistan army reported late Tuesday that at least seven militants were killed during an intelligence-based operation in North Waziristan.

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