At least seven people were killed and three others injured in two consecutive roadside bomb explosions in northwestern Pakistan on Saturday, according to local authorities.

The attacks occurred in Bannu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan and has witnessed a surge in militant violence in recent years.

Senior police official Yasir Afridi said the first explosion targeted a private pickup truck carrying passengers. The vehicle was struck by a remotely controlled improvised explosive device (IED), killing five people on the spot.

A second explosion occurred shortly afterward as rescuers were transporting the injured to a hospital. The blast, also triggered by a remote-controlled IED, killed two more people and wounded three others.

“A private pickup truck carrying passengers was targeted with a remote-controlled IED. The injured were being taken to hospital when a second IED exploded,” Afridi told local media.

Security forces launched a search operation in the area to identify and apprehend those responsible for the attacks.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombings. However, suspicion is likely to fall on the banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), commonly known as the Pakistani Taliban, which has been linked to similar attacks in the region in the past.

Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari strongly condemned the attacks and expressed condolences to the families of the victims. He also prayed for the speedy recovery of those injured.

In a statement, the president warned against what he described as the “internal and external handlers of terrorism” who provide support, funding and safe havens to militant groups.

Pakistan has experienced a significant rise in militant attacks in recent years, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces. Many of these incidents have been claimed by the TTP, an extremist group allied with Afghanistan’s Taliban administration but operating independently.

Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have remained strained amid Islamabad’s allegations that TTP leaders and fighters use Afghan territory as a sanctuary. The Taliban government in Kabul has repeatedly denied the accusations.

The latest bombings come against a backdrop of heightened tensions between the two neighboring countries, including recent cross-border military operations and security confrontations along the frontier.