Trucks carrying food for besieged residents come under rocket attack in NW Pakistan

PARACHINAR, Pakistan (AP) — A convoy of aid trucks carrying food and other relief supplies for hundreds of thousands of besieged residents in a sectarian-violence hit district in restive northwestern Pakistan came under a rocket attack on Thursday, officials said.

There were no immediate reports of casualties in the attack in Bagan, a city in the Kurram district where at least 130 people have died in recent months in clashes between rival Shiite and Sunni tribes.

Saeed Manan, a district administrator, said the aid convoy was turned back for security reasons. He provided no further details.

The attack came weeks after the government secured a ceasefire deal between tribal leaders.

It also came days after the first aid convoy reached Kurram, where violence flared on Nov. 21 when gunmen ambushed a convoy of vehicles and killed 52 people, mostly Shiite Muslims, in a dispute over land.

Shiite Muslims dominate parts of Kurram, although they are a minority in the rest of Pakistan, which is majority Sunni. The area has a history of sectarian conflict, with militant Sunni groups previously targeting minority Shiites.

The Associated Press