At least five people were killed and several others injured in a suicide attack on an army facility in northwest Pakistan on Saturday.

Three civilians and two military personnel were killed in the blast that occurred at the gate of the Pakistan Army Supply Corps centre in Nowshera cantonment of North West Frontier Province (NWFP), military spokesman Maj Gen Waheed Arshad said.

The number of casualties "might rise", he said. This was the latest in a string of suicide attacks targeting Pakistani armed forces.

The attacks have increased since the army carried out an operation in July to flush out militants holed up in the Lal Masjid in the national capital. At least 100 people were killed in that operation.