At least 9 people have died following an explosion in a bazaar in Pakistan

A bomb placed in a rickshaw exploded on Tuesday in a bazaar in Lakki Marwat, in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, killing at least nine people and injuring more than twenty. Among the victims are two police officers and a woman. Although no one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, authorities suspect the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group, which has intensified attacks against Pakistani security forces in recent years. This attack comes just days after a suicide bombing that killed 15 police officers in the Bannu district, prompting Pakistan to summon an Afghan diplomat to lodge an official complaint.

Pakistani authorities accuse the Afghan Taliban government of harboring TTP militants, an accusation that Kabul denies. Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have deteriorated, and militant violence has increased, especially after the Afghan Taliban took power in 2021. Although peace talks mediated by China have taken place, cross-border clashes continue, albeit with reduced intensity.