pakistan army
pakistan armyReuters

At least five people died in an attack by militants on Peshawar's Christian Colony on Friday morning. Of the five dead, four were suicide bombers who tried to attack the colony. 

One civilian died in the incident. The terrorists exchanged fire with the security forces before they were neutralised, security forces said. Combing operation is under way in the area to check for other attackers. 

The terrorists, who were clothed in bomb-laden jackets, struck around 6 a.m., sources told Dawn, the Pakistan-based newspaper. While two of the attackers blew themselves up, the others were shot dead by the security forces. 

"All four suicide bombers were killed," Asim Bajwa, the Director General Inter-Services Public Relations, said in a tweet on Friday. 

The Christian Colony is on the outskirts of Peshawar, near military academic institutes. The initial target of the attack were these military colleges, but forces were alert and the terrorists directed their assault on the neighbouring Christian Colony. 

The first person to fire on the terrorists was a watchman, sources told the newspaper. 

The attack comes in the wake of Bajwa's speech about the progress of the military against terrorists in Pakistan's northwestern region in Operation Zarb-i-Azb.

Pakistan has suffered loss of $106.98 billion from 2001 to 2015 due to the war on terror. Bajwa also said that 3,500 terrorists have been killed in Operation Zarb-i-Azb, while as many as 2,272 soldiers and 53 security personnel also died.