Bomb kills pair of Pakistani policemen

KHAR, Pakistan — A remotely detonated roadside bomb killed two policemen Saturday in a northwestern district in Pakistan that borders Afghanistan, authorities said.

According to the Bajur district police chief, Abdus Samad Khan, the two officers were on security duty near the Raghan Dam, when unknown assailants set off the bomb, killing both.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Khan said a search for the perpetrators was underway.

Bajur served as a sanctuary for the Pakistani Taliban — known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan — until the area was cleared of militants in military operations in recent years.

The militant group, which is separate from the Afghan Taliban, was involved in attacks on security forces in the past but is currently in peace talks with the government. A monthlong cease-fire was announced Tuesday.

Also Saturday, a home-made bomb rigged to a parked motorcycle exploded near a market in the southwestern city of Quetta, wounding five people.

Police officer Asmat Ullah said a girl, her mother and a policeman were among the wounded. He said the child was in critical condition but her mother was stable.