At least 42 killed in sectarian violence in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Gunmen unfastened occurrence connected buses carrying Shia pilgrims successful Kurram, wherever clashes pinch Sunnis person escalated successful caller months.

Gunmen person opened occurrence connected convoys of Shia pilgrims successful northwestern Pakistan, sidesplitting astatine slightest 42 people, according to authorities successful nan restive state of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Women and children were among nan fatalities successful nan attacks successful nan Kurram tribal territory connected Thursday, constabulary said connected Friday.

Sectarian unit has escalated since July successful Kurram, a region bordering Afghanistan, betwixt Shia and Sunni tribes complete onshore disputes.

Gunmen opened occurrence connected 2 abstracted convoys of Shia pilgrims travelling pinch constabulary escorts successful Kurram. No group has claimed work for nan attacks.

Javedullah Mehsud, nan lawman commissioner of Kurram, said nan attacks took spot erstwhile nan convoys were connected their measurement from nan territory office of Parachinar to Peshawar.

Mehsud told Al Jazeera connected Friday that each nan bodies had been recovered and burials would beryllium conducted later successful nan day.

Police said 20 group were wounded.

“We besides managed to retrieve 26 group belonging to nan Shia organization past night, including women and children, who were kept hostage by Sunni groups,” Mehsud said.

Ajmeer Hussain, 28, survived nan attack.

“Gunfire abruptly erupted and I started reciting my prayers, reasoning these were my last moments,” Hussain told nan AFP news agency.

“I laic down astatine nan feet of nan 2 passengers sitting adjacent to me. Both of them were struck by aggregate bullets and died instantly,” he said.

“The shooting lasted for astir 5 minutes.”

Condemning nan attacks, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said, “The enemies of bid successful nan state person attacked a convoy of guiltless citizens, an enactment that amounts to sheer brutality.”

Mehmood Ali Jan, a section tribal elder, told Al Jazeera that locals were furious pinch nan authorities, particularly rule enforcement which was expected to supply information to nan convoys but grounded to do so.

“People are readying to stitchery successful Parachinar to protestation against nan information forces,” Ali Jan said.

The attacks came days aft astatine slightest 20 soldiers were killed successful abstracted incidents successful nan province. In October, 11 group were killed successful tribal clashes successful Kurram.

Kurram has a agelong history of sectarian strife betwixt Shia and Sunni groups. More than 2,000 group were killed successful nan deadliest play of unit betwixt 2007 and 2011.

The mountainous region adjacent to Afghanistan’s Khost, Paktia, and Nangarhar provinces has besides go a hotspot for equipped groups, pinch predominant attacks by nan Pakistan Taliban aliases Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP), and ISIL (ISIS).

Earlier this month, thousands gathered for a bid march successful Parachinar, urging nan authorities to heighten information for Kurram’s 800,000 residents, of whom much than 45 percent beryllium to nan Shia minority.

Commenting connected Thursday’s attacks, Mehsud said: “There is people a batch of anger and fury among nan group successful nan area … This was a onshore conflict which has now turned into a tribal-cum-sectarian rift but we person afloat support of tribal elders not only from Kurram but besides different areas.”

The authorities cannot norm retired nan beingness of militants successful this attack, he said, but investigations are continuing.

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Al Jazeera and news agencies