DERA ISMAIL KHAN/LAKKI MARWAT: Three security personnel were martyred on Tuesday in a roadside improvised explosive device attack on a convoy in the Darazinda tehsil of the Dera Ismail Khan district, official sources said.

They said a Frontier Corps convoy was on the way from the FC Line area to the Zarkani security post in Daraban tehsil when it was targeted near a nullah.

Terrorists planted an IED alongthe convoy`s route that detonated as one of the security vehicles passed by it.

The explosion led to the martyrdom of three personnel on the spot.

Identities of the fallen soldiers were not immediately disclosed.

Security forces cordoned off the area and launched a search operation to trace culprits.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack until the last reports came in. The media wing of the Pakistan Army, ISPR, didn`t issue any statement regarding the incident.

Local authorities condemned the act of violence and reiterated their resolve to eliminate terrorism and bring those responsible to justice.

Meanwhile, two policemen were martyred and three terrorists were killed in separate actions in Lakki Marwat and Bannu districts onTuesday.

A police official said that armed motorcyclists attacked traffic cops Sanaullah and Israeil near Gulbaz Dehqan area on the PeshawarKarachi Highway when the latter were riding a motorcycle to duty at Tajazai Chowk.

He said both cops lost lives in the gun attack, while the assailants fled.

The official said that the martyred constables belonged to the Lawangkhel area and their bodies were moved to the district headquarters hospital to complete medico-legal formalities.

`The bodies were later dispatched to their native village for burial in a local graveyard with full official honour,` he said.

After the attack, the local police swung into action and killed a terroristin a shootoutin the Sherikhelarea of the district, according to the official.

He said that the police with the help of counter-terrorism department and Elite Force`s commandos conducted a search and strike operation against terrorists in the rural locality.

`During the operation, law enforcers came across terrorists and an intense exchange of fire took place resulting in the killing of a terrorist,` he said.

The official said that the policemen seized an assault rifle and ammunition and launched a sanitisation operation to eliminate other terrorists from the area.

In Bannu, the police and CTD commandos killed two terrorists affiliated with the Hafiz Gul Bahadar Group in a joint operation on Monday night.

`After receiving credible informa-tion about the presence of terrorists in the Domel, regional police head Sajjad Khan dispatched a police party to the area to apprehend them,` said an official.

He said that the policemen came under fire on the Domel road when they`re moving to the sanctuaries of terrorists.

`The cops returned the fire and the fierce gun battle continued for at least 20 minutes,` he said.

The official said in the intense exchange of fire, two terrorists were killed, while their five accomplices escaped taking the advantage of darkness and dense bushes.

He identified terrorists as Hussain Ahmad and Inam alias Toru alias Jehadyar, residents of Haiderkhel in North Waziristan tribal district, and said both the deceased belonged to the Hafiz Gul Bahadar Group.`Both terrorists were wanted by police and CTD in eight cases and two AK 47 assault rifles, four hand grenades, six magazines, 150 bullets and two mobile phones were recovered from them,` he claimed.

The official said the police thwarted a terrorist plan by launching a quick and effective action against them.

Also, the police foiled a terrorist bid by defusing a bomb planted near a post in Bajaur tribal district.

A statement from the DPO`s office revealed that a bomb disposal squad, headed by Ihsanullah, rushed to the site soon after learning that an IED was found near the police post in the Jar area of Khar tehsil on Monday night.

The team cordoned off the area and safely defused the bomb planted along the wall of the police post.