Pakistan ? A suicide bomber attacked a military convoy near the Afghan border on Saturday, killing at least 24 Pakistani soldiers as thousands of troops deployed to thwart a call for an anti-government holy war.

Another suicide car bomber struck a convoy elsewhere in the border region early Sunday, killing more than 10 security personnel, police said.

The escalating violence along the frontier, a haven for Pakistani and foreign extremists, follows the government’s bloody attack on Islamabad’s Red Mosque that sparked calls for revenge from radical groups.

Pakistani commandos overran the mosque Wednesday, ending an eight-day siege with a hard-line cleric and his militant supporters. More than 100 died during the standoff.

With Sunday’s attack, at least 63 people have been killed in bombings and shootings in the north since the Red Mosque crisis began July 3.