2024 Kurram attack

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2024 Kurram attack
Part of the sectarian violence in Pakistan, insurgency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
2024 Kurram massacre.jpg
Location Kurram District, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Date21 November 2024
TargetA large convoy of 200 vehicles transporting Shia Muslims
Attack type
Mass shooting, ambush
Deaths54 [1]
Injured86 [2] [3] (16 critically)
Perpetrators Islamic State (suspected)
No. of participants
4
Motive Anti-Shiaism

On 21 November 2024, gunmen attacked a large convoy of vehicles transporting Shia Muslims in the Kurram District of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, killing at least 54 people and injuring 86 others. The attack was one of northwestern Pakistan's deadliest incidents of sectarian violence in recent years. [4] The attack was described as a "terrorist attack" by Pakistani authorities. [5]

Contents

Background

The attack, one of northwestern Pakistan's deadliest incidents of sectarian violence in recent years, marked a significant escalation in sectarian tensions that had already claimed numerous lives in preceding months.[ citation needed ]

Sunni and Shia Muslims are in conflict in the region over a dispute over land. [6] Half of the population of the Kurram region are Shia Muslims, while the majority of Pakistan are Sunni Muslims. [4]

Attack

Four gunmen emerged from a vehicle and opened fire on a convoy of over 200 vehicles containing Shia Muslims traveling from Parachinar to Peshawar along a remote highway. The gunmen initially targeted police escort vehicles, who were assigned to protect the convoy due to prior instances of sectarian violence on roadways, before firing on the passengers. [7] Additional attackers reportedly fired from nearby farm fields. [5]

The assault lasted approximately 40 minutes, claiming the lives of over 38 men, five children and eight women, while leaving dozens of victims in critical condition at local hospitals. No group initially claimed responsibility for the attack. [5] [8]

Aftermath

The attack triggered renewed sectarian clashes in Kurram. Rioters in the villages of Bagan and Bacha Kot set fire to shops, houses and government buildings. [9] Protesters in Parachinar set ablaze two police checkpoints. [10] Internet was shut down, mobile services were suspended, schools were closed and a severe medicine and food shortage occurred after the attack. [11] Reports emerged of intense gunfire in Lower Kurram Agency between the Alizai and Bagan tribes. [9] [12]

By 28 November, 110 people had been killed in fighting across Kurram [12] with an additional 150 being wounded as well as over 300 shops and 100 houses being razed. [13] [14] The death toll had risen to 133 by 3 December, with 177 being wounded. [15] [16]


Reactions

Domestic

The incident prompted immediate responses from Pakistan's leadership: Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi categorized it as a terrorist attack, [5] while Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari issued strong condemnations and promises of justice against the parties responsible. Heightened security measures were implemented. [5] Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry, Chief Secretary of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, called the attack a "major tragedy" and said the death toll was likely to rise. [6]

Local Shia leaders criticized authorities for failing to provide adequate security despite recent threats against the Shia community. Several shop owners in Parachinar went on strike in protest against regional violence. [5] [17]

Foreign governments

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian condemned the attack, expressing his condolences to the government Pakistan and the families of the victims. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on his X account, "Our condolences to the victims' families and the people and government of brotherly Pakistan. We ask Almighty Allah for the speedy recovery of those injured. We spare no effort in strengthening bilateral and multilateral coordination and cooperation to uproot the scourge of terrorism". [18]

US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller expressed solidarity with Pakistan during a press briefing, condemning the attack and expressing sympathy for the victims and their families. MIller additionally highlighted the United States' cooperation with the Pakistani government in counterterrorism. [19] Spokesperson of the US embassy in Islamabad Jonathan Lalley expressed a similar sentiment to the State Department, stating that Pakistanis 'deserve to live free from harm, danger, and threat, and to feel protected and secure in their daily lives' and that the US will remain a 'steadfast partner' to the nation. [20] [21] Additional messages of solidarity were issued by the Australian, Iranian and Russian embassies in Islamabad. [22]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Parachinar</span> City in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Parachinar is a city and the capital of the Kurram District in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kurram District</span> District in Pakistan

Kurram District is a district in the Kohat Division of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan. The name Kurram comes from the river Kwarma in Pashto, which itself derives from the Sanskrit word Krumu.

Sectarian violence in Pakistan refers to violence directed against people and places in Pakistan motivated by antagonism toward the target's religious sect. As many as 4,000 Shia are estimated to have been killed in sectarian attacks in Pakistan between 1987 and 2007, and thousands more Shia have been killed by Salafi extremists from 2008 to 2014, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW). Sunni Sufis and Barelvis have also suffered from some sectarian violence, with attacks on religious shrines killing hundreds of worshippers, and some Deobandi leaders assassinated. Pakistan minority religious groups, including Hindus, Ahmadis, and Christians, have "faced unprecedented insecurity and persecution" in at least two recent years, according to Human Rights Watch. One significant aspect of the attacks in Pakistan is that militants often target their victims places of worship during prayers or religious services in order to maximize fatalities and to "emphasize the religious dimensions of their attack".

The 2007 Kurram Agency conflict began on 6 April 2007 in Kurram Agency, Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Pakistan when a Sunni gunman on a Friday prayer held by Shia in Parachinar. It left more than 40 people dead and more than 150 people wounded . Tension had been brewing in the area adjacent to the Afghan border since April 1 when the sectarian group Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamaat taking part in Mawlid when some of Sunni people having guns shot the Shia people.

In 2007, 34 terrorist attacks and clashes, including suicide attacks, killings, and assassinations, resulted in 134 casualties and 245 injuries, according to the PIPS security report. The report states that Pakistan faced 20 suicide attacks during 2007, which killed at least 111, besides injuring another 234 people. The PIPS report shows visible increase in suicide attacks after the siege of Lal Masjid.

These are the list of Terrorist attacks in Pakistan in 2010.

In 2008, Pakistan saw 40 terrorist attacks, which caused 154 fatalities and 256 injuries.

In 2009, Pakistan suffered 50 terrorist, insurgent and sectarian-related incidents that killed 180 people and injured 300.

This is a list of terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2012. Pakistan has faced numerous attacks by insurgents as a result of the ongoing War in North-West Pakistan by the Pakistani military against militant groups, part of the War on Terror. At the same time, there have also been numerous drone attacks in Pakistan carried out by the United States which exclusively target members of militant groups along the Afghan border regions.

On 28 February 2012, approximately 12 militants who were dressed in military uniforms stopped multiple buses on their routes through the Kohistan District in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. 18 passengers were subsequently taken out of the buses and executed by the militants; 17 of the 18 victims were identified as Shia Muslim residents of Gilgit–Baltistan who were travelling to the city of Gilgit from Rawalpindi, Punjab, while the remaining non-Shia victim was a Sunni Muslim who failed to convince the militants that he was not Shia. The victims were killed on the basis of their religious affiliation with the Shia sect of Islam after identification. Among the dead in the massacre were three children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Persecution of Hazaras in Quetta</span> Persecution of Hazara minotiry in Pakistan

The persecution of Hazaras in Quetta, is a series of ethnic or religious motivated attacks on Hazaras in Quetta, Pakistan.

This is a list of terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2013. Some of the incidents are sectarian in nature and the TTP is responsible for a majority of them.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 Karachi bus shooting</span> Terrorist attack in Karachi, Pakistan

On 13 May 2015, eight gunmen attacked a bus travelling in Safoora Goth, Karachi, Sindh in Pakistan. The shooting left at least 46 people dead. All of the victims were of the Ismaili Shia Muslim minority, suggesting the attack was a targeted killing of sectarian nature.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2015 Parachinar bombing</span>

A bombing occurred on 23 December 2015 at a clothes bazaar in Pakistan's Parachinar area in the Kurram Valley. It was not clear whether the bombing was a suicide attack or a remotely controlled detonation. The blast killed 25 people and another 62 were injured.

Terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2017 include, in chronological order:

On 21 January 2017, a bomb was detonated at a vegetable market in Parachinar, in the Kurram Valley of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. At least 25 people were killed and 87 injured by the explosion. Parachinar is the administrative headquarters of the Kurram Agency near the Afghan border. The same area has previously seen several blasts in 2008, February 2012, September 2012, 2013 and in December 2015.

Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad was a combined military operation by the Pakistani military in support of local law enforcement agencies to disarm and eliminate the terrorist sleeper cells across all states of Pakistan, started on 22 February 2017. The operation aimed to eliminate the threat of terrorism, and consolidating the gains of Operation Zarb-e-Azb which was launched in 2014 as a joint military offensive. It was further aimed at ensuring the security of Pakistan's borders. The operation underwent active participation from the Pakistan Army, Pakistan Air Force, Pakistan Navy, Pakistan Police and other Warfare and Civil Armed Forces managed under the Government of Pakistan. More than 375,000 intelligence-based operations had been carried out as of 2021. This operation has been mostly acknowledged after Operation Zarb e Azb.

On 23 June 2017, a series of terrorist attacks took place in Pakistan resulting in 96 dead and over 200 wounded. They included a suicide bombing in Quetta targeting policemen, followed by a double bombing at a market in Parachinar, and the targeted killing of four policemen in Karachi.

Terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2018 include:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Kurram Parachinar conflict</span> Part of the War in North-West Pakistan and Sectarian violence in Pakistan

The 2023 Kurram Parachinar conflict started as a land dispute and turned into a series of sectarian clashes that took place in the Kurram District of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan near Pak-Afghan Border, from May to July 2023.

References

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  2. Farooq Khan, Omer (22 November 2024). "Gunmen kill 50 in ambush on convoy in Pakistan's Kurram district". MSN via The Times of India . Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  3. 39 killed in Kurram convoy bloodbath
  4. 1 2 ur-Rehman, Zia (21 November 2024). "At Least 38 Killed as Gunmen Ambush Shiite Convoys in Pakistan".
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "At least 42 killed as gunmen open fire on vehicles carrying Shiites in northwest Pakistan". AP News. 21 November 2024. Archived from the original on 21 November 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
  6. 1 2 Ali, Mushtaq (21 November 2024). "Gunmen attack Pakistan passenger vehicles, killing at least 38 people". MSN. Reuters. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  7. Drury, Flora (22 November 2024). "Pakistan: Dozens dead in attack on passenger vehicles in Kurram". BBC News. Archived from the original on 21 November 2024. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
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  9. 1 2 "Violence Erupts in Kurram as Clashes Leave 18 Dead, Protests Sweep Pakistan After Massacre". Tribal News Network . 23 November 2024. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  10. "Protests over Kurram massacre turn violent". The Express Tribune. 23 November 2024. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  11. "Death Toll Rises To 102 As Kurram Violence Continues Amid Internet Blackout And School Closures". MENAFN. 27 November 2024. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  12. 1 2 Khan, Riaz (23 November 2024). "Fighting between armed sectarian groups in restive northwestern Pakistan kills at least 33 people". AP News. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  13. "Kurram's Struggle: Severe Shortages Of Medicine And Food Amid Ongoing Violence, Death Toll Reaches 110". MENAFN. 28 November 2024. Retrieved 28 November 2024.
  14. 32 killed in new sectarian violence in Pakistan
  15. Afzaal, Ali Afzal (3 December 2024). "Two more succumb to injuries in Kurram; death toll hits 133". The News International. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
  16. Mehsud, Rehmat (3 December 2024). "Pakistan province forms grand jirga to broker truce after 133 killed in sectarian feuding". Arab News PK. Retrieved 3 December 2024.
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  20. "STATEMENT BY U.S. MISSION SPOKESPERSON JONATHAN LALLEY ON THE ATTACK IN KURRAM". U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Pakistan. 22 November 2024. Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  21. Khan, Naimat (22 November 2024). "US vows to be 'steadfast partner' after deadly attack in Pakistan's Kurram district". Arab News . Retrieved 23 November 2024.
  22. Achakzai, Jamila (23 November 2024). "Foreign missions condemn Kurram attack". The News International . Retrieved 23 November 2024.