Written By Lisa Murimi
At least 38 people, including women and children, were killed on Thursday when unidentified gunmen ambushed a convoy of 200 vehicles in Pakistan’s remote Kurram tribal district, near the Afghan border.
The attackers first targeted the convoy’s police escort, according to provincial officials.
The vehicles, primarily carrying Shia Muslim passengers, were traveling under police protection due to heightened sectarian violence in the area, which has claimed dozens of lives this year.
Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry, Chief Secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, described the incident as “a major tragedy,” warning the death toll could rise. At least 11 people were injured.
Survivor Saeeda Bano recounted to BBC Urdu her harrowing experience of hiding under car seats with her children during the gunfire.
“When it stopped, there were bodies and injured people everywhere,” she said.
The attackers, reportedly 10 in number, fired indiscriminately from both sides of the road, forcing some survivors to flee and hide in nearby houses.
Authorities have launched a manhunt for the perpetrators.
This attack follows months of sectarian strife in Kurram, where Sunni and Shia tribes have clashed.
The region, bordering Afghanistan, is also a stronghold for militant groups like ISIS and the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, compounding its instability.
