Pakistani city mourns 42 Shiite Muslims who were ambushed and killed in a gun attack

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Protesters in Pakistan’s restive northwest chanted anti-government slogans Friday as funeral prayers were held for 42 Shiite Muslims who were ambushed and killed by gunmen a day earlier in one of the region’s deadliest such assaults in recent years.

The victims were traveling in a convoy of several vehicles from the northwestern city of Parachinar to Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, when the attack took place Thursday. Those killed included six women and 20 others were injured.

Survivors said the assailants emerged from a vehicle and sprayed the buses and cars with bullets. Nobody has claimed responsibility for the attack and police have not identified a motive.

Thursday’s attack took place in Kurram, an area where Shiite Muslims dominate. Sectarian clashes between the group and Pakistan’s majority Sunni Muslims have killed dozens of people in recent months.

Tribal elder Jalal Bangash said the bodies began arriving in the city Thursday evening. The Shiite community group Anjuman Hussainia Parachinar announced three days of mourning.

A mourner stands beside the bodies of the victims. who were killed in a gunmen firing incident, before their funeral prayer, in Parachinar, main town of Kurram district of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussain Ali)

Coffins were draped in white cloth that bore red calligraphy. It read “Labbaik ya Hussein,” a Shiite expression in remembrance of the 7th-century martyrdom of the Prophet Muhammad’s grandson, Hussein, that gave birth to their faith.

Locals carried the coffins aloft through Parachinar as people thronged the streets. Markets, shops, roads and schools were closed. Locals and relatives of the victims staged a sit-in, demanding action against the perpetrators.

Ali Ghulam lost his nephew in the attack.

“He was a very innocent and noble man, only 40, and left behind small kids,” said Ghulam. “He was working to feed his children, he never fought with anyone. Now we are worried about his family and what we will do for them.”

Protests kicked off in parts of the city, with people chanting anti-government slogans. Some people set alight check posts and the gate at the entrance of the city. Elders have called for calm.

Local residents walk in a market, which closed due to strike called by traders as a protest against a gunmen firing incident, in Parachinar, main town of Kurram district of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussain Ali)

Shiite Muslims make up about 15% of the 240 million population of Sunni-majority Pakistan, which has a history of sectarian animosity between the communities.

Although the two groups generally live together peacefully, tensions have existed for decades in some areas, especially in parts of Kurram.

Dozens of people from both sides have been killed since July when a land dispute erupted in Kurram that later turned into general sectarian violence.

A mourner stands beside the bodies of the victims. who were killed in a gunmen firing incident, before their funeral prayer, in Parachinar, main town of Kurram district of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussain Ali)
Relatives gather to collect the body of a person who was killed when gunmen fired on vehicles carrying Shiite Muslims Thursday, at a hospital in Parachinar, main town of Kurram district of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussain Ali)
Mourners bury a body of a person killed when gunmen fired on vehicles carrying Shiite Muslims Thursday, after his funeral prayer in Parachinar, main town of Kurram district of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussain Ali)
Relatives transport the body of a victim of a gunmen firing incident, after collecting it from a hospital, in Parachinar, main town of Kurram district of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussain Ali)
People offer prayer for local journalist Janan Hussain, who was killed in a gunmen firing incident, at his home, in Parachinar, main town of Kurram district of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Hussain Ali)

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