At least 16 people, including three women and two children, were killed in a fresh sectarian clash in Pakistan's northwest, officials said. Sunni and Shiite Muslim tribes have been engaged in intermittent fighting for several months in the Kurram district of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

At least 16 people, including three women and two children, were killed in a fresh sectarian clash in Pakistan's northwest, officials said. Sunni and Shiite Muslim tribes have been engaged in intermittent fighting for several months in the Kurram district of Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Kurram, formerly a semi-autonomous area, has a history of bloody confrontations between tribes belonging to the Sunni and Shiite sects of Islam that have claimed hundreds of lives over the years. Also read: Pakistan tightens security ahead of SCO summit, national airline's offices to remain closed A convoy of Sunnis was travelling under the protection of paramilitary soldiers on Saturday when they came under attack, a senior Kurram administration official told AFP on the condition of anonymity. "As a result, 14 people, including 3 women and 2 children, were killed, and six others were wounded," he said. Frontier police responded and killed two of the attackers, who were identified as Shiites, the official said. Other recent clashes in July and September killed dozens of people and ended only after a jirga, or tribal council called a ceasefire. Also read: Pakistan government threatens force as Imran Khan's PTI plans protest during SCO summit Officials are attempting to broker a fresh truce. Tribal and family feuds are common in Pakistan. However, they can be particularly protracted and violent in remote areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where communities abide by traditional tribal honour codes. The Shiite community in Pakistan, a predominantly Sunni Muslim country, has long suffered discrimination and violence. Disclaimer: This story has been published from a news agency feed with minimal edits to adhere to WION's style guide. The headline may have been changed to better reflect the content of the story or to make it more suitable for the WION audience.

Pakistan sectarian violence: 16 killed as Sunni, Shiite tribes clash in Kurram district

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Pakistan sectarian violence: 16 killed as Sunni, Shiite tribes clash in Kurram district