A suicide attacker detonated a bomb Monday after clambering into a police compound in northwestern Pakistan, killing up to three officers, police and state media reported.
The explosion happened in the volatile Swat valley where Pakistan's military has been fighting pro-Taliban militants.
The attacker was challenged as he scaled the perimeter wall of a police office near the area's main town of Mingora and blew himself up after police opened fire on him, said Syed Akhtar Shah, deputy inspector-general of Swat police.
"There was an exchange of fire before the bomber exploded himself near the office," Shah said.
He said two police officers were killed and seven others wounded.
State-run Pakistan TV, however, reported that three police officers were killed and five wounded.
It was not immediately possible to reconcile the differing casualty tolls.
Police officer Karamat Shah said several wounded people were rushed to a hospital.
The Pakistan army launched a major military operation in November and says it has dispersed most militants from the Swat Valley, once famed as a tourist resort. Attacks have persisted, however.
Taliban sympathizers have gained sway across much of Pakistan's frontier with Afghanistan over the past year, and have been blamed for an unprecedented wave of suicide bombings.
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