Pakistan: Death toll rises to 43 in sectarian attacks, say officials

The death toll from two attacks in northwest Pakistan rose to 43, authorities said on Friday as they imposed a curfew and suspended mobile service in the remote mountainous district.

Gunmen opened fire Thursday on two separate convoys of Shiite Muslims travelling with police escorts in Kurram, a district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province near the Afghanistan border with a history of bloody sectarian violence.

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For several months, clashes have again erupted between Sunni and Shiite Muslim tribes in the area, which was formerly semi-autonomous.

"The death toll from yesterday's attack on a convoy in Kurram has risen to 43," Javed Ullah Mehsud, a senior administration official, told AFP.

"The victims include seven women and three children," Mehsud said,.

He added that out of the 16 injured, 11 were in critical condition.

A senior police officer confirmed the death toll to AFP.

A senior administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said on Friday that mobile signal across the district had been shut down, describing the situation as "extremely tense" with locals staging a sit-in in Parachinar, the district's main town.

"A curfew has been imposed on the main road connecting Upper and Lower Kurram, and the bazaar remains completely closed, with all traffic suspended," the official said.