At least eight people including soldiers were killed in northern Pakistan when terrorists attacked a passenger bus near the country’s border with China.

“At least eight people including two soldiers are killed in the attack,” Ghulam Abbas, a spokesperson for Gilgit-Baltistan Police said late on Saturday.

The bus was travelling on the Karakoram Highway, one of the highest roads in the world, which connects Islamabad with Beijing.

The attack, according to officials, took place around 6:30pm local time when terrorists opened fire at the bus and it subsequently collided with an oncoming truck.

Another 26 passengers of the bus were wounded in the attack and some had bullet injuries, Abbas said.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far.

“The government will ensure that the terrorists involved in the attack are given the appropriate punishment,” Chief Minister Gilgit-Baltistan Haji Gulbar Khan said in a statement.

The latest attack comes amid an uptick in terrorist attacks in the country, particularly in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the southwestern province of Balochistan. Both provinces border Afghanistan.

Last month, a Pakistani air force base came under attack in central Punjab province that the military said was repulsed successfully. Around two dozen soldiers and civilians were killed in November.

Violence against security forces and civilians has surged in Pakistan since the takeover of the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan.

Islamabad blames Islamist militants hiding in Afghan border regions for deadly bombings and shootings in Pakistan. Kabul rejects the charges.