Friday, March 25, 2011

8 killed, 20 abducted in lower Kurram

8 killed, 20 abducted in lower Kurram

Updated at 1445 PST Friday, March 25, 2011
HANGU: At least eight persons were killed and four wounded in armed persons' firing on passenger vehicles besides twenty persons were also abducted along with the vehicle, Geo News reported.

Unknown armed persons opened fires on a caravan of vehicles on way to Parachanar from Tul at Bugan area of lower Kurram Agency. Two vehicles were set on fire by the armed persons, report said. The injured have been shifted to Sada Hospital of Kurram Agency. 

Following the incident, the forces cordoned off the area and started search operation.

More than twenty persons have lost their lives in four attacks on passenger vehicles since the peace agreement made one and a half month ago. 
 

at 15:15 0 comments

Convoy in Pakistan ambushed by gunmen

BBC

breaking news

Convoy in Pakistan ambushed by gunmen

At least eight people have been killed and 15 kidnapped as gunmen attacked vehicles travelling through a volatile district of north-west Pakistan, officials say.
The ambush is said to have occurred in the Bagan area of the Kurram tribal agency. About five others were injured.
It is unclear how many vehicles were attacked by the gunmen. Reports say those targeted were Shia Muslims.
There have been a number of sectarian attacks in the area in recent years.
But the area in question has seen a recent peace deal between rival Shia and Sunni Muslim tribes, correspondents say.
The attack is said to have occurred on the main road that runs through the Kurram tribal agency connecting the regional capital with the city of Peshawar.
Violence had kept the road closed until the peace deal earlier this year, the Associated Press news agency reports.
 

at 15:08 0 comments

Eight killed in Kurram attack

The Express Tribune

Eight killed in Kurram attack

By AFP / Express
Published: March 25, 2011
Security forces kill seven militants in Lower Orakzai. PHOTO: FILE/APP
Eight people were killed and five wounded Friday when gunmen opened fire on two vehicles carrying Shiite Muslims in Pakistan's lawless tribal region in suspected sectarian violence, officials said.
The vehicles were ambushed in Bagan town of Kurram district, near the Afghan border, and the victims "were all Shiite Muslims", a security official said.
The area has a history of sectarian clashes between Pakistan's majority Sunni Muslims and minority Shiites.
Local administration official Fazal Hussain told AFP the Shiites in a three-vehicle caravan were heading from the northwestern city of Parachinar to Peshawar, the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
"The attackers came in two vehicles. They opened fire and fled, leaving eight people dead, including a woman and a child," he said.
Security forces kill 7 in Lower Orakzai
Security forces on Friday targeted militant hideouts and killed seven suspected terrorists in Upper Orakzai Agency.
The forces attacked militant hideouts in Shakartangi, Ghaljo and Mamezai areas of the agency, destroying two of them.
In continuing operations to restore law and order in the region, security forces also arrested several militants.
Militants blow up girls' schools
Unidentified militants blew up two girls' primary schools in Khyber Agency on the same day.
The militants targeted Hukum Khan Girls' School and Azam Khel Primary School with explosives in the Landi Kotal area.
The school buildings were completely destroyed however no casualties were reported in the incidents.
Militants have often targeted schools in the region, 16 of which have been in Landi Kotal alone. A total of 45 schools have been destroyed in Khyber Agency.
Militants arrested in Lower Dir
Security forces rounded up 140 suspects during a search operation in various areas of Lower Dir.
DPO Lower Dir Saleem Marwat said that a mobile van of the security forces was targeted by the unidentified attackers during the operation.
In a remote control blast, two security personnel were killed and two others were injured.
A First Investigation Report (FIR) was registered against the attackers at the Munda Police Station.


at 14:54 0 comments

Eight killed in suspected sectarian shooting in Kurram

Eight killed in suspected sectarian shooting in Kurram

AFP

The area has a history of sectarian clashes between Pakistan's majority Sunni Muslims and minority Shias. — Photo by AFP
PESHAWAR: Eight people were killed and five wounded Friday when gunmen opened fire on two vehicles carrying Shia Muslims in Pakistan's Kurram tribal region in suspected sectarian violence, officials said.
The vehicles were ambushed in the Bagan town of Kurram district, near the Afghan border, and the victims "were all Shia Muslims", a security official said.
The area has a history of sectarian clashes between Pakistan's majority Sunni Muslims and minority Shias.
Local administration official Fazal Hussain told AFP the Shias in a three-vehicle caravan were heading from the northwestern city of Parachinar to Peshawar, the capital of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
"The attackers came in two vehicles. They opened fire and fled, leaving eight people dead, including a woman and a child," he said.
 
SOURCE: http://www.dawn.com/2011/03/25/eight-killed-in-suspected-sectarian-shooting-in-kurram.html

 

at 14:52 0 comments

Gunmen kill 8 in attack on minibus in Pakistan

AP Associated Press
Gunmen kill 8 in attack on minibus in Pakistan
By HUSSAIN AFZAL 
Associated Press
Mar 25, 2011

PARACHINAR, Pakistan (AP) -- Gunmen attacked a minibus carrying mostly Shiite Muslims and killed eight people on Friday in a stretch of northwestern Pakistan that has seen a recent peace deal between rival Sunni and Shiite tribes, a government official said.
The gunmen who carried out the ambush in the Bagan area of the Kurram tribal region also kidnapped 18 people from the bus, said Javid Khan, a local administrator. The attack was the latest blow to the peace deal, which was meant to end a four-year conflict that cost hundreds of lives, but has failed to extinguish violence in the area.
The bus was attacked as it was traveling on the main road that runs through Kurram that connects the main town in the region, Parachinar, with Peshawar, the capital of nearby Khyber Pakhtunwkha province, said Khan.
Violence had kept the road closed until the peace deal was struck in February.
Five people were wounded in the attack, said Khan. The bus was mostly carrying people from the Toori tribe, one of the main Shiite tribes that struck the peace deal, he said.
A similar attack killed nine people in mid-March who were traveling on the road from Parachinar, a Shiite-dominated town.
It is unclear how the Shiite tribes will respond following Friday's incident and whether the peace deal will be scrapped.
Tribesmen in Kurram have reported that the Haqqani network - a fiercely independent branch of the Afghan Taliban and a major enemy of U.S. and NATO forces - had helped cut the deal with the Shiites so it could use Kurram as a staging ground for fighting in Afghanistan.
The Taliban, who adhere to a hard-line interpretation of Sunni Islam, have at times exploited sectarian and tribal feuds to spread their influence along the Pakistan-Afghan border.

© 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
 

at 14:32 0 comments
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)