QUETTA: A powerful roadside bomb targeting security forces killed two soldiers in southwest Pakistan, the mílitary said Thursday, a sign of increasing violence in the region.

The overnight attack happened in Pasni, a district in the impoverished Balochistan province, according to a military statement. It said a search operation was still underway to arrest those who orchestrated the bombing.

It provided no further details and only said hostile intelligence forces were behind the violence.

No group immediately claimed responsibility, but previous such attacks on security forces have been blamed on small separatist groups that have been carrying out a long-running insurgency demanding independence from the central government in Islamabad.

The Pakistani Taliban and the Daesh group also have a presence in Balochistan.