At least 41 people, including women and children, lost their lives after unidentified gunmen ambushed a convoy of 200 passenger vehicles in Pakistan’s remote Kurram district near the Afghan border, according to local authorities.
The attackers reportedly first targeted the convoy’s police escort, said the provincial spokesman. The convoy was under police protection due to ongoing sectarian violence in the area, which has resulted in dozens of deaths this year.
Police confirmed to the BBC that Thursday’s attack claimed 41 lives, with an additional 16 people critically injured. Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s chief secretary, described the incident as a “major tragedy” and warned the death toll could rise further.
Eyewitness Saeeda Bano, who was traveling with her children, recounted to BBC Urdu how they hid under car seats during the assault, fearing for their lives. When the gunfire subsided, she saw injured individuals and bodies scattered on the road.
Authorities believe around 10 attackers opened fire indiscriminately from both sides of the road, said Javed ullah Mehsud, a senior administrative official. Women and children reportedly sought shelter in nearby houses while police searched for the perpetrators.
The majority of the convoy’s passengers were Shia Muslims, traveling through a region that has seen frequent clashes between Sunni and Shia tribes. A previous ceasefire brokered by a tribal council had temporarily reduced violence, but recent weeks have witnessed a resurgence of attacks.
Last month, a similar attack on passenger vehicles in the area killed 15 people. The road where Thursday’s incident occurred had only recently reopened, with police-protected convoys being the only permitted form of travel.
Sectarian tensions in Kurram, often linked to land disputes, are compounded by its proximity to Afghan provinces harboring anti-Shia militant groups like Islamic State and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
