Three US military men killed in Pakistan blast (Lead, changing dateline)

ISLAMABAD - Three US military personnel were killed in a bomb blast at a girls school in Pakistan’s restive northwest Wednesday, the American embassy here said.

Three Americans were killed and two injured in a terrorist bomb explosion at about 11.20 a.m. in the Lower Dir district of Pakistans Federally Administered Tribal Areas, US embassy spokesperson Richard Snelsire said in a statement.

Earlier reports had said that three foreign journalists were killed and 16 students injured in the blast.

A number of Pakistani citizens, including children, are believed to have been killed

and injured in the blast, the spokesperson said, adding: We are continuing to gather the facts about the incident.

The US military personnel were in Pakistan to conduct training at the invitation of the paramilitary Frontier Corps, he said.

They were in Lower Dir to attend the inauguration ceremony of a girls school that had recently been renovated with US humanitarian assistance, Online news agency quoted the spokesperson as saying.

The United States condemns this vicious terrorist bombing. We express our

condolences to the families of the deceased and our sympathy and support to the

wounded, the spokesperson said, adding: The carnage clearly shows the terrorists vision.

At least 15 girls were trapped inside the school building after the blast, district police officer (DPO) Mumtaz Zarin told Dawn news.

It was an IED (improvised explosive device) blast, he said.