A suicide bomber targeted a security checkpoint in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing at least two soldiers and a 10-year-old boy and wounding 14 other civilians, officials said.

The bombing occurred in Miran Shah, a town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that borders Afghanistan and is a former stronghold of the militant Pakistani Taliban group, also known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.

At least 14 civilians and some soldiers were wounded in the attack, according to Rashid Khan, a police official.

He said security forces were searching the area for the bomber's handlers.

“At least two soldiers and a 10-year-old boy, Mohammad Qasim, have been martyred" in the attack, he said.

There was no immediate comment from the military.

No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but suspicion is likely to fall on the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan.

Though a separate group, it remains a close ally of the Afghan Taliban, which took over Afghanistan in August 2021 following the withdrawal of US and NATO forces from the country after two decades of war.

The Afghan Taliban's takeover in Afghanistan has emboldened Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, which has stepped up attacks in recent months.?