Bomb Kills Five in Southwest Pakistan

A bomb on Wednesday killed five Pakistani soldiers in a restive tribal region near the Afghan border, security officials said.

The explosion took place in a village in the South Waziristan tribal region.

"Number of martyred soldiers due to IED attack in South Waziristan has risen up to five," a senior security official told Agence France Presse.

Homemade roadside bombs are a major weapon of militants who attack government forces in Pakistan's northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and in the tribal districts.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Wednesday's blast.

South Waziristan is one of seven semi-autonomous tribal areas.

Washington considers the areas a major hub of Taliban and al-Qaida militants plotting attacks on the West and in Afghanistan.