Taliban government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said claims made by Pakistani officials linking Afghanistan to the attack on a police station in Bannu were unfounded.

“The Afghan government considers the recent statements by Pakistani officials, which claimed that the attack on the police station in Bannu was planned in Afghanistan, baseless,” Mujahid said in a statement posted on X.

The response came after Pakistani authorities blamed Afghanistan-based militants for the suicide bombing and subsequent assault on a police checkpoint in Bannu, an area near Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan that has seen a resurgence of militant violence.

The attack, one of the deadliest against Pakistani security forces this year, intensified tensions between Islamabad and Kabul, which have repeatedly traded accusations over cross-border militancy.

Pakistan has accused militant groups operating from Afghan territory of orchestrating attacks inside Pakistan since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in 2021.

The Taliban administration has consistently denied harboring militants targeting neighboring countries and has argued that Pakistan’s security challenges are an internal matter.

Relations between the two countries have deteriorated sharply in recent months, including military confrontations earlier this year after Pakistan launched airstrikes inside Afghanistan targeting what it described as militant hideouts.

The Taliban condemned those strikes as violations of Afghan sovereignty.

The blast struck Naurang Bazar in the Sarai Nawrang area near Bannu District, close to the Afghan border, according to emergency officials and local authorities.Witnesses described scenes of panic after the explosion tore through the busy marketplace, damaging storefronts and vehicles as residents and rescue workers rushed to evacuate the wounded.

Rescue 1122 said nine people were killed and around 30 others wounded in the attack, adding that critically injured victims had been transferred to hospitals in Bannu for treatment.Dr. Mohammad Ishaq said the hospital had received at least 37 injured patients, several of whom remained in critical condition.

No group immediately claimed responsibility for the bombing.The attack came days after a coordinated assault involving a car bomb and armed ambush on a police checkpoint in Bannu district killed 15 police officers. Pakistani authorities blamed militants operating from Afghan territory for the weekend attack and lodged a formal protest with the Taliban-led government in Kabul.

The Taliban administration said on Monday it had no immediate response to Pakistan’s allegations.Relations between the two countries have deteriorated sharply in recent months amid escalating accusations over cross-border militancy. In February, Pakistan launched airstrikes inside Afghanistan targeting what it described as militant safe havens linked to attacks on Pakistani security forces.

The Taliban government has repeatedly denied providing sanctuary to militants and maintains that Pakistan’s security crisis is an internal matter.

Northwestern Pakistan has witnessed a resurgence in militant violence since the collapse of a ceasefire between Islamabad and armed insurgent groups, with attacks increasingly targeting police, military personnel and civilian areas near the Afghan frontier.

Gunmen stormed an unregistered orphanage in Kogi in late April, abducting 23 children and several adults. Most of the children were released shortly afterward, but seven children remained missing until the latest rescue operation.In a statement, the Nigerian army said troops “successfully rescued the remaining kidnapped victims” following what it described as sustained search-and-rescue efforts.

The rescued group included five boys, two girls and two adult women believed to be wives of the orphanage proprietor, the statement said.Authorities did not disclose details about the operation or whether any suspects were arrested.

Kogi state Information Commissioner Kingsley Fanwo previously said the orphanage had been operating illegally in a remote forested area without registration or oversight from state authorities and security agencies.Nigeria continues to face overlapping security crises, including insurgencies, armed banditry, communal violence and separatist unrest.

Kidnappings for ransom have become increasingly common, particularly in rural and underserved regions where security presence is limited.North-central Nigeria, including Kogi state, has witnessed repeated attacks on schools and communities in recent years.

Security officials have linked some incidents in neighboring regions to militants affiliated with Boko Haram.In November, hundreds of students were abducted from a school in neighboring Niger state in an attack that security sources attributed to Boko Haram fighters.