ISLAMABAD, September 12 (RIA Novosti) - Pakistani extremists have tried to destroy a seventh century rock carving of Buddha in the Swat valley region, in northwestern Pakistan, a spokesman for the local archaeology department said Wednesday.

Aqleem Khan said that a group of masked men had planted explosives in the rock, where the statue of the sitting Buddha is carved. The explosion damaged the rock, but the monument itself remained untouched.

Local authorities have compared the incident with the destruction by the Taliban of two Buddha statues in the Bamiyan province, in neighboring Afghanistan in 2001.

"It's just like the way the Taliban used to behave," Khan said.

The Taliban interpretation of Islam considers such religious statues anti-Muslim and idolatrous.

The statue near Mingora is one of the largest most well-preserved monuments of the period.