BAJAUR AGENCY - Two security personnel were killed in a roadside IED blast in Nawagai tehsil of Bajaur Agency on Tuesday, officials and locals said.

They said the incident took place in Matak Charmang, a mountainous region, 37 kilometres northwest of Khar.

According to officials, the security personnel were carrying water to their post from a nearby place when an improvised explosive device (IED) planted by the roadside went off near them. The officials said the IED was detonated through a remote control.

They added that both the soldiers - Hawaldar Khurshid and Hawaldar Mushtaq - were critically injured in the blast and died while on way to hospital for treatment.

Residents of the area said that local people along with members of village defence committee and personnel of security forces immediately rushed to the site after hearing the explosion and started efforts to trace the culprits, but the assailants managed to escape. Meanwhile, the local people and elders of Charmang area have strongly condemned the bomb blast in the area killing two security personnel during a jirga held on Tuesday evening.

The elders pledged to continue their support and cooperation with the security forces and local administration to eliminate militants and anti-peace elements from the region.They said the people of the region were on the same page with the administration and forces to defeat militancy in the entire agency. They announced that they will fight till the elimination of last militant from the region.