At least nine people were killed and more than two dozen injured after a bomb rigged to a rickshaw exploded in a crowded bazaar in northwest Pakistan on Tuesday, in the latest attack highlighting the worsening security situation near the Afghanistan border.
The blast occurred in Lakki Marwat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where a bomb rigged to a rickshaw exploded in a busy bazaar, local police chief Azmat Ullah said. Two traffic police personnel and a woman were among those killed, The Associated Press reported.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack so far, though suspicion is expected to fall on the Pakistani Taliban, or Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The outfit, which is separate from but allied with Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers, has stepped up attacks on Pakistani security forces in recent years.
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The bombing comes days after 15 police officers were killed in a suicide bombing and gun assault on a security post in the nearby Bannu district, prompting Islamabad to summon a senior Afghan diplomat to lodge a formal complaint.
{{/usCountry}}The bombing comes days after 15 police officers were killed in a suicide bombing and gun assault on a security post in the nearby Bannu district, prompting Islamabad to summon a senior Afghan diplomat to lodge a formal complaint.
{{/usCountry}}Pakistan blamed the late Saturday attack on the TTP.
Pakistani authorities have long accused Afghanistan’s Taliban government of sheltering TTP militants. Kabul has denied the allegations, saying it does not allow militants to use Afghan soil to launch attacks against other countries.
Pakistan has witnessed a sharp rise in militant violence in recent years, further straining ties with Afghanistan.
The TTP and other militant groups have become more emboldened since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021.
Tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan have remained high, with fighting since late February killing hundreds of people. In early April, the two sides held peace talks mediated by China, though sporadic cross-border clashes have continued at a lower intensity.