Miranshah, Pakistan -
A militant commander and five family members - including a child - were killed when a bomb he was tinkering with exploded at his home in north-west Pakistan, officials said on Wednesday.
Aalim Deen Mehsud, a local commander of the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in the North Waziristan tribal area, was trying to remove explosive material from a mortar shell, triggering the blast, a security official said.
“He was trying to cut the shell with a hand saw and take out the explosives when the explosion occurred, killing himself, four women and a child of his family,” the official told AFP.
Two other children were injured in the blast, the official said.
A local in the village of Talib Jan, where the incident happened, confirmed the deaths.
“Aalim Deen Mehsud and five members of his family have been killed in an explosion at his house,” said Gul Hajjan, a resident of the village which is close to the Afghan border.
North Waziristan is one of Pakistan's seven semi-autonomous tribal regions. Washington considers the region to be a major hub of Taliban and al-Qaeda militants plotting attacks on the West and in Afghanistan.
The government opened negotiations with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) last month in a bid to end a bloody insurgency which has cost thousands of lives and cost the economy tens of billions of dollars.
The process broke down for more than two weeks after militants killed 23 kidnapped soldiers, but later resumed after the Taliban announced a month-long ceasefire. - Sapa-AFP