PESHAWAR, Pakistan — On Thursday, a tragic shooting incident occurred in northwest Pakistan when assailants targeted passenger vehicles carrying Shiite Muslims, resulting in a minimum of eight fatalities and several injuries, according to local police reports.

The incident took place in Kurram district, part of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, an area that has recently witnessed violent clashes between the predominantly Sunni Muslim population and the minority Shiite community. This ongoing sectarian strife has led to numerous deaths in the past months.

Although there has been no group claiming responsibility for this latest act of violence, recent weeks have seen heightened tensions in Kurram, and this attack comes just after local authorities reopened a significant roadway that had been closed for weeks due to deadly confrontations.

Local police representative Nusrat Hussain commented that a convoy of vehicles, which was ferrying passengers from Parachinar city to Peshawar (the provincial capital), was ambushed by the gunmen.
Meanwhile, medical reports indicate that at least five individuals are in critical condition following the attack.

In Pakistan, Shiite Muslims constitute roughly 15 percent of the country’s population of about 240 million, which is mainly composed of Sunni Muslims. This country has a longstanding history characterized by sectarian tensions between these two groups.