Gunmen open fire on buses carrying Shia pilgrims in Kurram, where clashes with Sunnis have escalated in recent months.Gunmen have opened fire on convoys of Shia pilgrims in northwestern Pakistan, killing at least 42 people, according to authorities in the restive province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Women and children were among the fatalities in the attacks in the Kurram tribal district on Thursday, police said on Friday.
Sectarian violence has escalated since July in Kurram, a region bordering Afghanistan, between Shia and Sunni tribes over land disputes.
Gunmen opened fire on two separate convoys of Shia pilgrims travelling with police escorts in Kurram. No group has claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Javedullah Mehsud, the deputy commissioner of Kurram, said the attacks took place when the convoys were on their way from the district headquarters of Parachinar to Peshawar.
Mehsud told Al Jazeera on Friday that all the bodies had been recovered and burials would be conducted later in the day.
Police said 20 people were wounded.
“We also managed to recover 26 people belonging to the Shia community last night, including women and children, who were kept hostage by Sunni groups,” Mehsud said.
Ajmeer Hussain, 28, survived the attack.
“Gunfire suddenly erupted and I started reciting my prayers, thinking these were my final moments,” Hussain told the AFP news agency.
“I lay down at the feet of the two passengers sitting next to me. Both of them were struck by multiple bullets and died instantly,” he said.
“The shooting lasted for about five minutes.”
Condemning the …