A bomb rigged to a rickshaw exploded in a bazaar in Lakki Marwat, in Pakistan’s northwest province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, killing at least nine people and wounding more than two dozen others, police said Tuesday.

Local police chief Azmat Ullah said the blast occurred in the district of Lakki Marwat and that two traffic police officers and a woman were among those killed. Ullah said no group immediately claimed responsibility.

Ullah also said the bombing damaged nearby shops and that most of the dead and wounded were passersby. Pakistan’s security forces have faced rising attacks in areas bordering Afghanistan, and Tuesday’s blast came amid concerns about escalating violence in the region.

The Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, is often suspected in attacks in Pakistan’s northwest. The group is separate from but allied with Afghanistan’s Taliban government, and police accounts in such cases frequently point to the Pakistani Taliban’s intensified campaign against Pakistani security forces.

However, Pakistani Taliban officials denied involvement in Tuesday’s attack. In a statement, the group said it had learned about the bombing but was not behind it.

The blast also landed days after a separate attack on Saturday in the nearby Bannu district, when 15 police officers were killed in a suicide bombing and gun assault on a security post. In that case, Islamabad later summoned a senior Afghan diplomat to lodge a formal complaint.

Pakistan on Monday blamed the Bannu attack on Afghanistan-based Pakistani Taliban, and Afghanistan’s Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid responded by rejecting the allegation. In a post on X, Mujahid said it was baseless and quoted the “Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan believes that problems can be resolved through understanding, mutual respect and genuine cooperation, rather than accusations, threats and emotional reactions,” adding that Kabul’s position remained that Afghan territory would not be used against any country.

Afghan officials also reiterated that no one would be allowed to engage in activities that undermine regional security and stability. Separately, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned Tuesday’s attack and conveyed condolences to victims’ families.

In a statement, Sharif said the government and relevant institutions were committed to eliminating terrorism. He directed authorities to complete the investigation quickly, identify those responsible and ensure perpetrators were brought to justice.

Pakistan has long accused Afghanistan’s Taliban government of sheltering militants, and Kabul has denied the allegation. According to Kabul, it does not allow militants to use Afghan soil to launch attacks against other countries, a position that has kept tensions high since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021. Pakistani officials and Afghan officials have also traded blame amid fighting between the two sides that has killed hundreds of people since late February, after peace talks mediated by China in early April.