Kurram Massacre: Death toll reaches 42

The number of people killed in gunfire on Thursday evening in Kurram District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has reached 42 while many injured are in critical condition due to which the death toll can further increase.

A larger number of women and children are among the victims. The massacre occurred when assailants opened fire on passenger vehicles in the Ochat area ofthe  Kurram district.

Police said the convoy traveling from Parachinar to Peshawar was targeted in the attack, which has left multiple people dead and injured including women and children.

They added that wounded persons were shifted to different hospitals, including some receiving treatment at THQ Hospital Alizai.

The convoy of vehicles were attacked in Char Khel and Mandori areas of the district where unidentified gunmen kept firing at the vehicles for almost an hour, leaving several passengers dead and wounded.

KP Law Minister Aftab Alam told the media that an investigation is underway to determine the facts behind the incident and confirmed that the number of martyrs climbed to 42.

Detailing the incident following an initial probe, Alam said that the armed men resorted to firing at the convoy of vehicles from the mountains.

The minister said that he wanted to visit Kurram but roads leading to the district were closed following a dispute between two rival groups who are blaming each other for the incident.

He, however, claimed that no local group was involved in the deadly attack and added that a terrorist outfit carried out the firing.

President Asif Ali Zardari strongly condemned the incident of firing that took place in Kurram district targeting the passenger’s vehicles.

The president, in a statement, expressed grief over the loss of precious lives in the incident and called it a coward and inhumane act.

He instructed the authorities concerned to take perpetrators of the attack on innocent citizens to the task.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif strongly condemned the terrorist attack on the convoy of innocent civilians including women and children in district Kurram.

He directed the provision of the best medical care to those injured in the incident. In a statement issued by the PM Office, the prime minister ordered to bring those involved in the attack to justice.