A group of Takfiri terrorists have opened fire on passenger vehicles carrying Shia Muslim civilians in northwest Pakistan, killing nearly 40 people and wounding 30 others in one of the deadliest such attacks in recent years in the restive region.

Local Pakistani officials said the attack happened on Thursday in Kurram, a district in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.  

The passengers came under attack as they were traveling in two convoys from the city of Parachinar to Peshawar.  

“Two separate convoys of Shia people… were targeted by the terrorists in the Kurram district,” Javed ullah Mehsud a senior administration official was quoted as saying. 

“Approximately 10 attackers were involved in both incidents, firing indiscriminately from both sides of the road.”

Initial reports confirmed that the victims included six women and several children. At least 10 passengers were said to be in critical condition at a hospital.

The chief secretary of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Nadeem Aslam Chaudhry, said, “It’s a major tragedy and death toll is likely to rise.”

The latest wave of violence came a week after authorities reopened a key highway in the region after keeping it closed for weeks following deadly clashes.

Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari strongly condemned the attack and also ordered authorities to take action against those who orchestrated the attack.

Nearly 50 people were killed during a series of violent clashes that erupted across the same region in July.

On November 7, thousands of people from Pakistan’s restive border town of Parachinar embarked on a peace march, aiming to restore peace and calm in the violence-marred region.

The march once again highlighted the need for peace, stability, and governmental action in this impoverished border region, primarily populated by the Turi Bangash community.

The peace march, attended by thousands was temporarily stopped after local government authorities agreed to the demands presented by the marchers, most of whom belong to the minority Shia community. But it wasn’t called off.

As the march progressed toward Peshawar, and potentially to Islamabad afterward, the people of Parachinar were determined to make their voices heard.

Organizers say the outcome of the march could set a precedent for addressing conflicts and ensuring the safety and rights of local populations in volatile regions across Pakistan. 

Pakistan is also currently carrying out intelligence-based operations in a separate conflict in northwest and southwestern Balochistan province, where militants and separatists often target police, troops and civilians, and the most violence has been blamed on Pakistani Taliban (TTP) and an outlawed Baloch Liberation Army or BLA group.

Over the past years, the TTP militants have been involved in multiple terrorist attacks, including targeted bombings and killings of members of religious communities and security officials across the country.

On December 16, 2014, the group attacked Peshawar’s Army School, where more than 150 people, mostly children, were killed, one of the deadliest massacres in Pakistan’s history.

Thousands have been killed across Pakistan since the country entered a US-led so-called war on terror in 2001.