IED blast kills tribal chief in Wana market, South Waziristan

On May 18, 2026, an improvised explosive device detonated near Gulshan Plaza in the Rustam Bazaar area of Wana town, South Waziristan district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The blast killed three people, including Malik Tariq, chief of the Ahmadzai tribe, and wounded four others, two of whom were reported in critical condition.

Police cordoned off the marketplace, transferred the dead and injured to the District Headquarters Hospital in Wana, and launched a search operation to trace the perpetrators. No group claimed responsibility, though authorities suspect unidentified militants had planted the device overnight.

The attack follows a recent uptick in violence in the tribal belt, which has seen the killing of several tribal elders and attacks on civilians in the same region over the past weeks.