Three killed as bomb hits hideout of Haqqani militants in Pakistan

At least three people have been killed after a bomb struck Haqqani network militants in their hideout in Pakistan's tribal areas bordering Afghanistan, local officials and militant sources say.

A Pakistani security official in the region said on Thursday that nearly a dozen people were also wounded in the attack in Pakistan's South Waziristan region.

A Haqqani source confirmed that casualties were caused after the bomb exploded at a meeting place for militants operating across the region. One of those wounded was regional commander Jamshed Khan. 

No individual or group has claimed responsibility for the blast.

The Haqqani network operates on both the Pakistani and Afghan side of the border. It has been behind some deadly attacks against civilians, security forces and NATO forces in the Afghan capital over the past decade.

The militants were blamed for a devastating truck bomb in the heart of Kabul in May 2017 that killed around 150 people, though the Haqqani network later denied any involvement.

The network was formed 30 years ago to fend off the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and still boasts a strong presence in eastern Afghanistan and in the tribal districts of North Waziristan in Pakistan’s restive northwest along the Afghan border.