PESHAWAR - At least three people of the Shia community were killed and six others injured when some unidentified men opened fire on a passenger coach in the Charkhel area of Lower Kurram Agency on Monday.
Reports said the passenger coach was on its way to Peshawar from Parachinar, headquarters of Kurram. The vehicle was ambushed when it reached Charkhel, an area dominated by Sunni tribesmen. As a result of indiscriminate firing, three people were killed and six others were injured. Soon after the attack, officials along with personnel of law enforcement agencies rushed to the site and shifted the victims to Parachinar. No arrest was made by the authorities by the time this report was filed. Lower Kurram Agency is dominated by militants headed by Fazal Saeed, considered in good books of Pakistani authorities. Around two months ago, the Fazal Saeed group claimed responsibility for a suicide attack on Shias in Parachinar that killed more than 50 people. Over 1,500 people have lost their life due to sectarian tension and terrorist incidents in Kurram. The main road connecting Parachinar to Peshawar and the rest of the country remains closed most of the time, compelling the people from Shia community to adopt alternate routes, including via Afghanistan.