A teenager has been hailed as a hero in Pakistan after he was killed while chasing down a suicide bomber outside a school.

Aitzaz Hasan died when an Islamist militant detonated a device outside the school in the village of Hangu, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

A teacher at the school told police he saw 17-year-old Hasan running after the bomber before being killed by the explosion.

Hundreds of people have attended the teenager's funeral to pay their respects and a Facebook tribute page has been set up in his honour.

Celebration of life

Hasan's father Mujahid Ali returned to Pakistan from the UAE, where he was working, to celebrate his son's life.

"My son made his mother cry but saved hundreds of mothers from crying for their children," he told the English-language Express Tribune newspaper.

Criticised militants

Local resident Miqdar Khan said many people in the district have hailed Hasan as a hero, adding that the teen was known for openly criticising militants.

"Aitzaz Hasan used to tell all that one day he would capture some suicide bomber and his class fellows used to laugh," he said.

"But this boy proved what he said and I am sad that he left us too early."

Suicide bombings and killings have become a regular occurrence in many regions of Pakistan.

A study by the Islamabad-based Pak Institute for Peace Studies found that the number of terrorist attacks increased by 9% in 2013 compared to the previous year.