A lieutenant colonel and another soldier were killed in a vehicle-borne suicide attack targeting a security forces convoy in Bannu district, Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

Axar.az, citing Arab News, reports that the attack occurred during an intelligence-based operation aimed at locating militants in the area.

Security forces responded and killed five Pakistani Taliban militants in a firefight. The ISPR condemned the use of Afghan soil by the militants for attacks inside Pakistan, criticizing the Afghan Taliban for failing to prevent cross-border terrorism.

Earlier in the week, a similar attack in Bajaur district killed 11 security personnel when militants rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a joint checkpoint.

The Pakistani military has vowed to continue operations against militants regardless of their location.