KHAR: Three Levies personnel were wounded in a blast in Khar tehsil here on Tuesday, local residents and officials said.

They said the incident occurred at around 8.30am in Janat Shah area, some 16km northwest of Khar, the administrative headquarters of Bajaur Agency. The officials said the Levies men were on a routine patrol when a bomb placed along the bank of dried up canal went off, leaving three personnel wounded.

The wounded were identified as Saeedullah, Shafiullah and Zahidullah.

Residents and Levies personnel manning a nearby post reached the spot soon after the explosion and took the wounded to the agency headquarters hospital in Khar.

Following the blast, the Levies men along with the security forces launched a hunt for the perpetrators in the surrounding areas, but the administration did not confirm any arrest during the search operation.

However, according to the residents, several local people were detained by the administration under the collective territorial responsibility clause of Frontier Crimes Regulation.-Correspondent