Three rockets fired by unidentified persons towards an army area in Pakistan's North West Frontier Province on Saturday caused minor damage to a factory though no one was hurt.

Two rockets hit a match factory in Risalpur town, nearly 45 km from the provincial capital of Peshawar, where the Pakistan Army has a cantonment and the Military College of Engineering. The Pakistan Air Force Academy is also located in Risalpur. The third rocket landed in a field near the railway locomotive factory.

Risalpur also has several important educational institutions and industrial plants. Local residents believed the rockets were fired at the cantonment but missed the target. They said they had heard loud explosions early on Saturday morning.

The police cordoned off the area soon after the attack and did not allow people to move towards the sites hit by the rockets.

Militants have stepped up attacks against security forces in Pakistan, mostly in the troubled tribal regions and parts of the NWFP, in recent months.

When President Pervez Musharraf [Images] imposed an emergency on November 3, he cited growing terrorist attacks and activities of militants and judicial activism as the two main reasons behind the move.

Experts said the rocket attack in a highly sensitive area showed that there has been no significant improvement in the security situation since the imposition of emergency.

A suicide bomber killed three security personnel inside the home of Federal Minister Amir Muqam in Peshawar on Friday though he escaped unhurt.