One soldier was martyred while four others were injured. A convoy of vehicles carrying food and medical supplies to Parachinar was attacked in the Bagan area of Lower Kurram on Thursday, officials confirmed.
Clashes stemming from decades of land disputes have claimed at least 130 lives since November, and shortages of food and medicine have been reported due to weeks-long road blockades.
A peace agreement was signed on January 1, but the route connecting Parachinar remained blocked. On January 4, a government convoy was attacked near Bagan, injuring Kurram’s deputy commissioner and leaving the convoy stranded.
On Monday, Mohammad Ali Saif, Adviser to the Chief Minister for Information to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister, said that as per the peace agreement, demolition of bunkers in Kurram district had begun.
Later on Tuesday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said the situation in Kurram was “returning to normal” as 25 vehicles of a second convoy carrying essential items arrived in the district.
Hangu Deputy Commissioner Saeed Mannan confirmed on Thursday that the convoy comprising 35 vehicles had left Thall and was heading towards Parachinar when it was attacked.
“The administration is working to control the situation after the attack in Bagan,” AC Mannan said.
Additional Deputy Commissioner Shaukat Ali said three vehicles were damaged in the attack.
Six terrorists were killed and ten wounded in the retaliatory attack, the ADC said.
Sajid Turi, former federal minister of Kurram, said small and large weapons are being used in the ongoing attack.
Senior police official Sahaib Gul confirmed that AFP that 21 after the attack, 21 trucks withdrew from the area, while others were stranded.
In addition, heavy gunfire erupted at two other locations after the incident and is still continuing, Gul said, adding that some trucks had “caught fire” as a result of the ambush.
Kurram Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Ashfaq Khan said AFP “Shooting continues” on the outskirts of Thall.
More to follow
