Islamabad: At least nine member of an anti-militant `lashkar` or militia were killed and four others injured when a bomb went off in the volatile Khyber tribal region of northwest Pakistan on Sunday, officials said.

The bomb planted by the roadside was detonated when the members of the lashkar reached a check post in the remote Tirah Valley that was earlier manned by militants, officials said. The attack was blamed on the Lashkar-e-Islam, a banned militant group led by Mangal Bagh Afridi.

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The militia had recently captured the check post from the militants following a gunbattle. Militant groups like the Lashkar-e-Islam and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan often target members of private militias set up to fight the insurgents.

Scores of pro-government tribesmen have been killed in attacks by the militants.

PTI