Two Pakistan Army soldiers were martyred in an improvised explosive device (IED) attack in North Waziristan on Tuesday, the military's media affairs wing said.

In a statement, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said that security forces were conducting a clearance operation in the district's Dosalli area when the IED exploded. As a result, 25-year-old Sepoy Zia Akram and 20-year-old Sepoy Musawwar Khan were martyred, it said.

Akram hailed from Muzaffarabad while Khan was a resident of Bajaur, according to the ISPR.

Pakistan Army troops immediately cordoned off the area to apprehend the terrorists who had planted the IED, the statement said.

During intense exchange of fire, one of the terrorists, who were trying to flee, was killed, it added.

The clearance operation was still ongoing to find and eliminate any other terrorists in the area, the ISPR said.

There has been an uptick in attacks on security forces in recent months. Last week, four Frontier Corps officials were martyred and 18 others injured in a suicide attack near a checkpost on Quetta's Mastung Road.

In August, three Levies personnel were martyred and as many injured when their vehicle hit a landmine in Balochistan's Ziarat district.

Earlier that week, a Pakistan Army captain was martyred and two soldiers injured when their vehicle hit an IED planted by terrorists in the province's Gichik area.