Militants attack Christian area in Pakistan, one guard dead - army

The attackers, wearing suicide vests and carrying firearms, exchanged fire with security forces and were killed, the statement said.

At least four suicide bombers attacked a Christian neighborhood in northwestern Pakistan early on Friday, killing at least one security guard, the military said.

Authorities "promptly responded" and all four attackers were dead, army spokesman Lt. General Asim Bajwa said in a message on social network Twitter.

In a separate statement, the military's information wing said one security guard of the Christian residential area was killed at the start of the attack, at 5:30 a.m.

The area is near Warsak Dam, in the Khyber tribal region 20 km (12 miles) northwest of the city of Peshawar, an official at the scene told Reuters.

The attackers, wearing suicide vests and carrying firearms, exchanged fire with security forces and were killed, the statement said.

Two solders, a policeman and two civilian security guards were wounded, it added.

The official said the attackers might have been attempting to enter an adjacent security installation, by exploiting weaker security arrangements in the residential area.