MIRAMSHAH: Five people were killed and 32 others wounded in a grenade attack at a wedding ceremony in the Sedgi area of North Waziristan Agency (NWA) near the Afghan border late Thursday night, sources at a hospital claimed.

The injured were rushed to the NWA Headquarters Hospital in Miramshah and doctors said five of them were in a critical condition.

The wedding ceremony was in progress at the residence of Zangi Khan when masked men lobbed the hand-grenade at guests in the hujra at around 1am, witnesses said.

Two people died on the spot and 35 others, including children, were injured. Doctors said three of the wounded died at the hospital. Hospital staff that had gone home after duty was called back to deal with the situation.

No group or individual has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Attacks and targeted killings have increased in North Waziristan over the past two weeks. According to locals, three incidents of targeted killings have already taken place in the area.

They recalled that masked men sneaked into a house near Mirali town last week and a person was killed. Security forces carried out Operation Zarb-i-Azb in the region in June 2014 and the area was cleared of local and foreign militants.

After the operation, security forces seized weapons during a deweaponisation drive in the area.

Authorities have placed a ban on the display of weapons across the North Waziristan tribal region.

Published in Dawn, April 28th, 2018