Gunmen attack on passenger vehicles in Pakistan kills dozens of people
"There were two convoys of passenger vehicles, one carrying passengers from Peshawar to Parachinar and another from Parachinar to Peshawar, when armed men opened fire on them," according to a local resident.
Among the fatalities in the attack, which occurred in the Kurram tribal district, were a woman and a child. / Photo: Reuters Archive
Gunmen have opened fire on passenger vehicles in a tribal area in northwestern Pakistan, killing at least 38 people and wounding 29, the chief secretary of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry, said.
Among the fatalities in the attack, which occurred in the Kurram tribal district, were a woman and a child, Chaudhry said on Thursday, adding: "It’s a major tragedy and death toll is likely to rise."
"There were two convoys of passenger vehicles, one carrying passengers from Peshawar to Parachinar and another from Parachinar to Peshawar, when armed men opened fire on them," a local resident of Parachinar, Ziarat Hussain said, adding that his relatives were travelling from Peshawar in the convoy.
Tensions have existed for decades between armed Shia and Sunni Muslims over a land dispute in the tribal area that borders Afghanistan.
In September, at least 46 people were killed in the tribal clashes in the Kurram district near the Afghan border. However, tribal elders later resolved the conflict and announced a ceasefire.
President Asif Ali Zardari, in a statement, strongly condemned the attack on passenger vehicles.
No group claimed responsibility for the incident.
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