15 killed in Kurram firing incidents

PARACHINAR/SADDA: Fifteen persons, including two women and a child, were killed and seven others sustained injuries in fresh firing incidents in the troubled Kurram tribal district on Saturday, police sources said.

The sources said that violence erupted after two tribesmen were injured in a firing incident.

Following this incident, several vehicles carrying passengers were targeted with gunfire in different areas of restive Kurram.

Deputy Commissioner Javedullah Mehsud confirmed the casualties and said that 15 people were killed, including two women and a child. He said the injured were rushed to the District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) in Parachinar.

In one incident, armed assailants ambushed the vehicles traveling from Ghozgarhi to Sadda city, killing 10 members of a tribe, including women and children, while six others sustained injuries.

The attack followed an earlier skirmish in the Ghozgarhi mountains, where one person was killed.

The local authorities and elders were working to prevent further bloodshed in the region.

Medical Superintendent Dr Syed Mir Hassan Jan of the DHQ Hospital informed the media that most of the injured received medical treatment and were either discharged or transferred to other facilities, except for one patient who remained under treatment.

The firing incidents led to road closures in various areas. The deputy commissioner assured the public that efforts were underway to secure transportation routes and establish peace.

Former Member National Assembly Pir Haider Shah expressed concern over the recent flare-up and said it had severely impacted the peace efforts. The tribal elders and jirga members had been engaged in negotiations to broker a peace agreement between the warring tribes when the latest violence broke out.