A suicide bomber driving a rickshaw killed more than a dozen people in Pakistan this morning.

The blast at a security checkpoint in Mingora, the main city in the troubled Swat Valley, is the country’s second attack in less than 24 hours.

On Friday suicide bombers killed 55 people in near simultaneous attacks in Lahore.

Islamic insurgents are believed to be behind both attacks, raising fears of an offensive by the militants after a period of relative calm in the region.

This morning’s bombing injured 52 and killed at least 13, according to officials.

The attacker, driving a three-wheeled motorized rickshaw, hit a roadblock manned by soldiers and police in Saidu Sharif, the administrative capital of Swat.

It is believed his target was the town’s court house but he had detonated the explosives early after being stopped at the checkpoint.

The blast blew out windows and destroyed several vehicles nearby.

One witness told Reuters he saw “five people including some women, who burned to death” in the street.

Maj. Gen. Ashfaq Nadeem, a top military official for the region, claimed two soldiers and two policemen were also killed in the blast.

He said: “Such acts cannot demoralize us. I want to assure the people of Swat that we will continue fighting till the last Taliban are eliminated.”

Until last year Swat Valley was a Taliban stronghold however the Pakistan military seized back control after peace talks with their leaders collapsed.

The government operation was seen as fairly effective, forcing many insurgents into hiding.

The attacks slowed early this year and in recent months they have been farther apart and largely confined to the remote regions near Afghanistan.

However the Taliban threatened to deploy thousands of suicide bombers in retaliation for the army offensive and there are now fears this weekend’s blasts may signal a fresh wave of violence.