A local government official and five police officers have been killed in two attacks in Pakistan near its border with Afghanistan, officials told AFP yesterday.

Tensions between the two countries remain high after weeks of escalating border clashes, despite a ceasefire agreed after violent fighting in October.

Yesterday, three police officers were killed and two wounded in a blast in Paniala, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a border region often targeted by militants.

Initial reports suggested the cause was an "improvised explosive device", Ali Hamza, a police official in the nearby city of Dera Ismail Khan, said.