Nine soldiers were killed in a restive western region of Pakistan on Thursday after a suicide bomber rammed his motorbike into their military convoy and detonated, army and officials said.

Pakistan has witnessed a dramatic uptick in militancy since the Taliban returned to power in neighbouring Afghanistan two years ago, with attacks spiking along border regions.

"The suicide bomber was riding a motorcycle and he rammed his bike into a truck in a military convoy," provincial minister Feroze Jamal Shah said.

The army said a further five soldiers were injured in the attack near the town of Jani Khel, however Shah put the figure at 20.