Sunday, March 19 2006 15:03 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Islamabad: At least six security personnel and a civilian were killed and several others injured when a powerful roadside bomb hit a police van in northwestern Pakistan today(Mar 19,2006). The blast, apparently carried out through a remote control device, ripped through the mobile police van in the city of Dera Ismail Khan in North West Frontier Province, some 290 km southwest of Islamabad, District Police Officer Iftikhar Ali Khattak said.

The van was on a routine patrol when it was hit by the roadside bomb at the Kotli Imam locality of the city at 10:45 a.m local time, Khattak said.

Six security men, including three paramilitary troops, and a passerby were killed in the blast, he said.

Several other security personnel were also injured and taken to the District Headquarters Hospital, where the doctors said they were in critical condition.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Dera Ismail Khan is located near the South Waziristan tribal region, where police yesterday asked government officials to take extra security measures as they could either be kidnapped or attacked.