Mingora: Three militants attempting to plant a bomb at a girls’ school in northwest Pakistan were killed by their own explosives on Wednesday, police said.

The explosion occurred in the two of Mingora in the northwestern region of Swat, which has seen a spike in violence recently.

A police official said: "The improvised explosive devise they tried to plant went off prematurely killing three militants on the spot."

Clashes elsewhere in the region killed another militant and a man.