At least 18 people, including two women, were killed when suspected militants attacked a civilian convoy of vehicles in northwestern Pakistan on July 17, Pakistani officials say.
Pakistani authorities say the ambush occurred in the Kurram tribal region, which borders Afghanistan.
Security forces were escorting the civilian convoy to northwestern Pakistan's main city of Peshawar.
Retired Brigadier General Mahmood Shah, former security chief for Pakistan's tribal regions, said that the roads out of Kurram are dangerous, mainly due to ongoing military offensives targeting nearby Taliban militant strongholds.
Officials say they suspect the incident might have been an example of sectarian violence since the victims were all Shi'ite Muslims.
Khalid Aziz, a former senior government official in northwestern Pakistan, explains that sectarian violence between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims is nothing new for the country's tribal belt.
Security forces were escorting the civilian convoy to northwestern Pakistan's main city of Peshawar.
Retired Brigadier General Mahmood Shah, former security chief for Pakistan's tribal regions, said that the roads out of Kurram are dangerous, mainly due to ongoing military offensives targeting nearby Taliban militant strongholds.
Officials say they suspect the incident might have been an example of sectarian violence since the victims were all Shi'ite Muslims.
Khalid Aziz, a former senior government official in northwestern Pakistan, explains that sectarian violence between Sunni and Shi'ite Muslims is nothing new for the country's tribal belt.
VOVNews/VOANews
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