About 40 people were killed when armed attackers opened fire on a vehicle caravan in Kurram in northwestern Pakistan on Thursday. At least ten people are being treated in hospital for serious injuries.
The attack is the deadliest in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in recent years, according to the police. The victims were Shiites, a minority in the Sunni Muslim country, but a majority in the Kurram district.
The vehicles were on their way to the provincial capital Peshawar when the attack occurred. According to an eyewitness, the shooting lasted for about 40 minutes.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which has been described by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi as a "terrorist attack". The attack has been condemned by President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
