Islamabad - Three policemen were killed Tuesday in Pakistan's north-west when gunmen attacked officers deployed outside the house of a suspected Islamist militant who was arrested last week, police said.

The pre-dawn raid took place in the district of Haripur, located some 65 kilometres north of the capital city, Islamabad.

"Heavily-armed men raided the building at around 2:30 am (2030 GMT) and fired indiscriminately at the policemen guarding the place," a senior police officer told the German Press Agency dpa on the phone.

"Three policemen died on the spot and two more sustained bullet wounds," the officer said on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the incident.

The officer said the house belonged to an Afghan national who was arrested on Thursday for suspected links with the Taliban and the al-Qaeda terrorist organization. He was later handed over into the custody of the intelligence agencies.

The suspect's family remained in the house under police guard.

"Apparently, the attack was carried out to avenge the arrest," according to the officer.

Haripur borders the insurgency-hit district of Buner, where the security forces have been battling Taliban fighters since April 28.

Militants, emboldened by a controversial peace deal, overran Buner early last month, expanding their control to territory just 100 kilometers from Islamabad.

The advance, which sparked serious concerns in the West about the future of the nuclear-armed country, forced the Pakistani government to launch a military operation to re-establish its writ.(dpa)