DPA

ISLAMABAD AT least six people, including four policemen, were killed when a roadside bomb went off near a police van in northwestern Pakistan, officials said on Sunday.

The incident took place late on Saturday some 50 kilometres south of Peshawar, the capital of the Khyber- Pakhtunkhwa province, which is home to Taliban militants.

Ahmad Khan, a police official said the bomb was planted in a cart and went off when the police van drove by.

Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

Eight people, including six policemen, were injured.

Earlier on Saturday, a truck bomb ripped through a busy market in Khyber, one of the seven tribal areas in northern Pakistan where Al Qaeda linked militants are active.

The area was traditionally a stronghold of the Lashkar-e- Islam militant group, which has been weakened after fighting with the rival Tariq Afridi organisation. The two groups are fighting for control of the strategic Khyber district.

NATO supply routes for troops in Afghanistan passed through the area before Pakistan blocked them six months ago.