WANA - A powerful bomb ripped through a shopping centre in the restive Pakistani tribal region of South Waziristan on Sunday, killing one person and wounding eight others, security officials said.
The bombing took place in the main bazaar in Wana, the main town in the rugged tribal area bordering Afghanistan, a security official said.
"It was a powerful blast -- a man was killed and eight others were injured," he said, adding that several shops were damaged in the explosion.
Tribesmen rushed the casualties to a local hospital, the official said, adding that some of those injured were in critical condition.
Residents said the blast took place near the office of pro-government tribesmen who had expelled ethnic Uzbek militants after bloody clashes in the mountainous region in March this year.
Mittha Khan, a pro-government tribal commander who played an important role in those clashes, was wounded, witnesses said. He was airlifted by helicopter to the northwestern city of Peshawar for treatment, they said.
09/02/2007 13:03 GMT