Peshawar, (Newsman): At least 38 people, including six women, were killed and several others injured in a gun attack on passenger vans in Kurram district, located in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, on Thursday.
Confirming the tragic incident, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told the media that 38 people had lost their lives. The death toll may rise further, according to officials on the ground.
Dr. Muhammad Ishaq, Medical Superintendent of the Tehsil Headquarters (THQ) Hospital in Alizai, initially reported 33 deaths and 30 injuries. Many of the injured were transported to hospitals within the district and to Peshawar for further treatment.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Secretary Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry expressed concern that the death toll could increase, with local authorities confirming that a convoy of vehicles traveling from Peshawar to Parachinar was attacked in the Ucheat area of Kurram.
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According to the District Police Officer (DPO) Kurram, the gunmen used automatic weapons to target the passenger vehicles.
Eyewitnesses said that the attackers arrived in a vehicle and opened fire on the passenger vans, continuing for about half an hour. No group has yet claimed responsibility for the attack.
The Kurram district, which shares a long border with Afghanistan, has long been a site of tribal tensions and violent clashes.
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Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari strongly condemned the attack, describing it as “a cowardly and inhumane act” that targeted innocent civilians. He also expressed his condolences to the victims’ families, calling for swift action to bring those responsible to justice.
Kurram, a mountainous region with a population of around 620,000, has been plagued by sporadic violence and ongoing sectarian clashes in recent months, further complicating an already volatile security situation.
