By Armed attackers ambushed two passenger convoys in Pakistan’s northwestern tribal region Thursday, killing at least 38 people and wounding 29 others in one of the deadliest incidents of violence in the area this year.
The attack occurred in the Kurram tribal district near the Afghan border, where decades-old tensions between Shia and Sunni Muslim communities over land disputes have frequently erupted into violence. Among the victims were a woman and a child, according to Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry, chief secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
“It’s a major tragedy and death toll is likely to rise,” Chaudhry said. The casualties occurred when gunmen opened fire on vehicles traveling in opposite directions between the provincial capital Peshawar and Parachinar.
Local resident Ziarat Hussain, whose relatives were traveling in one of the targeted convoys, told Reuters by telephone that the vehicles were carrying passengers between Peshawar and Parachinar when armed men attacked both groups simultaneously.
President Asif Ali Zardari issued a statement strongly condemning the assault on civilian travelers. No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which occurred in a region long plagued by sectarian violence and militant activity.
