PESHAWAR: A roadside bomb killed three soldiers Sunday in northwest Pakistan near the border with Afghanistan, officials said.

The bombing took place in the village of Ghulam Khan in North Waziristan, one of the country's seven semi-autonomous tribal areas.

The soldiers from the paramilitary Frontier Corps were searching for bombs to clear the area for the passage of a convoy, a senior security official told AFP.

"Three soldiers ... were martyred in an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) blast in Ghulam Khan," the official said.

Local intelligence officials confirmed the incident and casualties.

A curfew has been imposed in the area as security forces search for the suspected militants who planted the bomb, the official said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.