Death toll rises to 42 in passenger van attack in northwestern Pakistan

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD (AA) - The death toll rose to 42 after unidentified assailants opened fire on passenger vans in northwestern Pakistan, said police on Friday.

The attack occurred Thursday in the Mandori Charkhel area of the Lower Kurram district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, as the vans traveled from Parachinar to the provincial capital, Peshawar.

“Four more people succumbed to their injuries overnight, raising the death toll to 42, including seven women, with 18 others injured,” said Salim Shah, a local police officer, speaking to Anadolu by phone.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which is believed to be related to tribal and ethnic tensions.

In September, tribal clashes in the Kurram district near the Afghan border left at least 46 people dead. However, tribal elders had resolved the conflict and announced a cease-fire.

The latest attack came after the local tribes blocked the roads in the area for over two weeks earlier this month.

But the local administration opened the road and restored the traffic in the area which his mostly mountainous and communication is weak.

Pakistan continues to grapple with a surge in violence, with civilians and security forces increasingly targeted.

The military said Friday it killed at least seven suspected militants while two others were injured in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and southwestern Balochistan provinces in past 24 hours.

The counter-terrorism operations followed a suicide bombing in the Bannu area on Tuesday, which claimed the lives of 12 security personnel.

Pakistan has lost at least 55 security personnel in the first three weeks of November in a string of clashes and suicide bombings, suggesting a protracted surge in violence across the country.