ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Gunmen opened fire on two convoys of passenger vehicles in a tribal district of northwestern Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least 38 people and wounding 29 others, local officials said.
The attack took place in the Kurram district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a region that borders Afghanistan and has been plagued by decades of tension between Shia and Sunni Muslim communities. Among the victims were a woman and a child, Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry, the province’s chief secretary, said in a statement.
“This is a major tragedy, and the death toll is likely to rise,” Chaudhry said.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but violence in the area has frequently been linked to sectarian disputes and land conflicts.
The assailants targeted two convoys of vehicles, one traveling from Peshawar to Parachinar and the other heading in the opposite direction, according to Ziarat Hussain, a resident of Parachinar who spoke by phone. “My relatives were traveling in the convoy from Peshawar when the armed men attacked,” he said.
In a statement, President Asif Ali Zardari condemned the attack, calling it a heinous act of violence.
The Kurram district, home to a significant Shia population, has long been a flashpoint for sectarian violence, with occasional attacks escalating tensions in the volatile region. Local authorities have launched an investigation, but no arrests or breakthroughs have been reported.
The attack underscores the persistent security challenges in Pakistan’s tribal areas, even as the government faces mounting pressure to address rising militant violence across the country.
