Kurram Agency: Sectarian Bloodshed

Apr 04, 2017, at 03:39 am

At least 24 persons were killed and another 100 injured in a suicide attack on an Imambargah (Shia place of worship) in the Noor market area of Parachinar town in the Kurram Agency of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) on March 31, 2017. The explosion took place as people gathered for Friday prayers near the women's entrance of Imambargah. A witness stated that security personnel at the Imambargah were checking devotees when an unidentified person parked a car next to the building, which then exploded. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) faction Jama'at-ul-Ahrar (JuA) claimed responsibility for the attack. The attack was part of TTP's "Operation Ghazi" and Shias were the targets, according to the outfit's statement to the media.