A local government official says a minibus hit a roadside bomb in Pakistan's northwestern tribal region, killing at least nine people.
Arif Khan, a tribal administration official in the town of Parachinar, says the blast ripped through the minibus as it was traveling through a minority Shi'ite region of the Kurram tribal area, which borders Afghanistan.
The area has long been the scene of sectarian violence.
Khan said a woman and two children were among the nine killed. He said the explosion also wounded 13 people.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack. Pakistani Taliban and other Sunni militant groups often target minority Shi'ites whom they consider to be heretics.
Pakistan has been fighting Islamic militants for over a decade.
