10 killed in blast in Pakistan's tribal belt

The improvised explosive device (IED) blast targeted the van in Kontara village in central Kurram Agency.

Ten people, including six children and two women, were killed in the blast, officials said.

Thirteen people were injured in the explosion. The injured were shifted to a nearby hospital.

The military's media wing, Inter Services Public Relations, said a special Mi-17 helicopter has been sent to Kurram Agency headquarters Parachinar to bring the injured to Peshawar for treatment.

Security personnel rushed to the blast site and cordoned off the entire area. A search operation was also conducted.

No group claimed responsibility for the attack. However, the area is frequently hit by sectarian violence.

Last month, at least 28 people were killed and 100 others wounded when a suicide bomber detonated a car "rigged with explosives" outside a Shiite imambargah in a busy market in Parachinar, the main town of the Kurram tribal region.

The grisly violence sparked angry protests by residents in Parachinar, the administrative headquarters of the agency, which is prone to sectarian violence.

Jamaatul Ahrar, a splinter group of the outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, had claimed responsibility for that bombing.