PESHAWAR: At least eight paramilitaries were killed in a gunfight with militants in Pakistan’s restive northwest early on Friday, while a policeman died when a hidden bomb exploded in a city center, security officials said Friday.

The gunfight, which also left five militants dead, occurred near Peshawar, the capital of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan.

The militants bombarded the checkpoint with rocket-propelled grenades, two senior military officials said, before overrunning and ransacking it. Local residents said the gunfire began around midnight and continued for at least two hours.

The paramilitaries, who served with the Frontier Corps (FC), came under fire by militants in the Jamrud area of the Khyber tribal district around 1:00 a.m. local time (2000 GMT Thursday), a senior security official told AFP.

“A team of FC was moving to counter the militants on a tip off but they became under fire beforehand. At least eight security persons and five militants were killed in an exchange of fire,” the official said.

The official added that a paramilitary soldier was also wounded in the gunfight, which took place in the village of Ghundai.

Another official said that three militants were also arrested after the gun battle while around a dozen escaped from the scene.

“A curfew was imposed in the area and a door-to-door search is underway,” he said.