ISLAMABAD: A suicide bomber martyred three children and three soldiers in an attack on a military vehicle in restive northwestern region bordering Afghanistan, officials said on Sunday.

On Saturday evening a suicide bomber detonated in a small market near Miran Shah in North Waziristan, just 26 kilometres (16 miles) southeast of Afghanistan.

Army said three children aged between four and 11 years-old were martyred in the “suicide blast” alongside three soldiers in the heavily militarised area.

“The bomber came by foot and blew himself up when a vehicle of security forces passed by,” a local government official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

Seven soldiers martyred, four terrorists killed in attack on military convoy

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said that “murderers of innocent children are enemies of humanity and Islam”.

“We will not sit in peace until we hunt down these barbarians and those who patronise them,” he added in a statement.

The attack has not yet been claimed by any militant groups.

In a letter, TTP leadership had warned fighters “not to violate the decision taken by the central command”.