Two civilians died and 10 others, including three Pakistan Army soldiers, were injured in a suicide attack on a convoy of security forces in Baka Khel area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Bannu district, the military’s media affairs wing said on Monday.

In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relation (ISPR) said that a “motorcycle borne suicide bomber” detonated himself on a security forces’ convoy on Sunday. It said that the bomber was affiliated with the Hafiz Gul Bahadur Group and “later identified as an Afghan national”.

The ISPR said that “two innocent civilians embraced martyrdom while seven civilians and three soldiers got injured”.

“Sanitisation operation is being carried out to eliminate any other terrorists found in the area. Security forces of Pakistan are determined to eliminate the menace of terrorism and such sacrifices of our brave civilians and soldiers further strength our resolve,” the ISPR said.

Last night, the ISPR said that eight militants were killed in an intelligence-based operation (IBO) in the Sararogha area of South Waziristan.

On Wednesday, two soldiers had embraced martyrdom after an improvised explosive device (IED) exploded on a security forces’ convoy in the Razmak area of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s North Waziristan district.

Pakistan has witnessed an uptick in terror activities in recent months, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, after the banned militant Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan ended its ceasefire with the government last year.

In September, data compiled by the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) said the number of militant attacks in August was the highest tally for monthly strikes in almost nine years.