Bombs kill two soldiers, one civilian in Pakistan (Roundup)

Jan 23, 2009, 10:32 GMT

   Islamabad - A suicide car bomber killed two soldiers in Pakistan's troubled Swat district on Friday, hours after a civilian died in a roadside explosion intended for a military convoy, an official said.

   The bomber detonated his vehicle when troops opened fire on him as he tried to break through a cordon and ram into a school housing a makeshift army camp in the Fizaghat area, 12 kilometres north-east of Swat's main town of Mingora.

   'Two soldiers manning the roadblock embraced martyrdom,' a military spokesman said in a phone interview.

   'Had the bomber not been intercepted, the losses would have been extensive,' he said.

   The suicide attack came hours after a remote-controlled roadside bomb targeting a military convoy killed a civilian and wounded two others in the Takhtaband area on the outskirts of Mingora.

   The security forces did not suffer any casualties as electronic radio jamming equipment delayed the explosion, according to the military.

   Swat used to be a tourist haven until 2007 when supporters of local radical cleric Maulana Fazlullah tried to enforce strict Taliban-style laws, including a ban on girls' education, and set up a parallel judicial system in the region.

   Military action against the militants triggered a wave of attacks on security forces and politicians, killing hundreds of people.