Suicide bomb attack in Swat injures three

Troops capture a would-be suicide bomber and five handlers while another blows himself up.

SWAT: Pakistani security forces on Saturday captured a would-be suicide bomber and five handlers while another blew himself up in a restive northwestern town, the military said.

"One suicide bomber blew himself up when encircled by security forces while another was arrested before he could detonate his explosives during a search operation in Batkhela town," the military said in a statement.

Three security officials were injured as a result.

Local administration official Javaid Khan Marwat confirmed the incident in Batkhela, 45 kilometres southwest of Mingora, the capital of Swat.

The picturesque Swat valley slipped out of government control after a radical cleric led an uprising in July 2007, beheading opponents, burning schools and fighting to enforce a harsh brand of Islamic law.

Pakistan launched a blistering air and ground offensive in the valley after militants marched out of Swat and advanced to within 100 kilometres of the capital Islamabad in April 2009.

After heavy fighting that displaced an estimated two million people, the military declared the region back under army control last summer and tentative efforts have begun to kick-start development and revive the local economy.

But sporadic outbreaks of violence continue in the region.