United Nations: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has strongly condemned a deadly attack in Pakistan’s northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The attack, launched by gunmen, targeted three passenger vehicles on Thursday, reportedly killing at least 42 people and injuring 20 others, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Secretary-General stressed that attacks against civilians are unacceptable, said Stephane Dujarric, his spokesman, at a daily briefing on Friday.

Guterres extended his deepest condolences to the families of the victims and the government of Pakistan.

He called on the Pakistani government to conduct an investigation and to ensure that those responsible are held accountable.

The Shia-dominated Parachinar area has had bloody confrontational clashes with the surrounding areas of the Sunni majority in the past.

No militant groups have claimed responsibility for the attack while the security forces have initiated a search operation to track down the attackers.

Pakistan’s Federal Minister Mohsin Naqvi condemned the attack, stating that the federal government is in constant contact with the KP provincial government.

“This past week has been difficult and upsetting. We see a new incident every day and now are in constant contact with the KP authorities,” he said.

President of Pakistan Asif Ali Zardari also condemned the tragic incident and said that “attacking innocent passengers is a cowardly and inhumane act”.

Kurram agency has witnessed violent and deadly clashes in the past over land disputes between Shia and Sunni tribes. Over the years, both tribes have engaged in conflicts, which have claimed the lives of hundreds on both sides.

Since the last conflict between the tribes, the locals were allowed to travel in only convoys as per the decision taken by the local elders.

Protesters in Pakistan's restive northwest chanted anti-government slogans, and tensions flared Friday (November 22, 2024) after funeral prayers were held for 42 Shia Muslims who were ambushed and killed by gunmen a day earlier in one of the region's deadliest such assaults in recent years.

The victims were traveling in a convoy of several vehicles from the northwestern city of Parachinar to Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, when the attack took place Thursday (November 21, 2024). Those killed included six women, and 20 others were injured.

At least 37 people have been killed, and over two dozen others injured in tribal sectarian clashes in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province over the past 24 hours, PTI reported citing police on Saturday. More than 30 people are reported injured, the official added.

The violent confrontation between the Alizai and Bagan tribes in the Kurram district, near the Afghanistan border, erupted after a deadly attack on a convoy of passenger vans on Thursday near Parachinar, which claimed 47 lives.

Senior officials from the administration and police have been dispatched to the conflict zone via helicopter to address the escalating tensions.

Despite efforts to restore order in the troubled area, communications from tribal elders indicate the potential for further escalations.

A high-ranking government team, including the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa law minister, chief secretary, and inspector general of police, has been sent to the Kurram tribal district to help stabilise the region, officials confirmed. The delegation’s mission is to address the security crisis in the district, which has been gripped by intense sectarian violence.

Homes and shops damaged

The ongoing clashes between the Alizai and Bagan tribes in Pakistan's Kurram district have intensified, with both sides using heavy and automatic weapons, according to police.

Homes and shops have sustained damage in the violence, prompting residents from several villages to flee to safer areas.

Israel-Hezbollah Conflict: At least four missiles were fired in an airstrike targeting Beirut's Basta neighbourhood early on Saturday, as Israel intensified its military campaign against Hezbollah, several media reports confirm.

The attack resulted in a violent explosion, with witnesses reporting the blast in the Lebanese capital. The conflict between Israel and Hezbollah, which began a year ago, escalated after Hezbollah launched rockets at northern Israel in support of Hamas at the start of the Gaza war.

Recently, the conflict has intensified with Israel's airstrikes on southern Lebanon, Beirut's southern suburbs, and the Bekaa Valley, where many of Hezbollah's top leaders have been killed. In response, Hezbollah fired rockets deeper into Israel.

The ongoing violence reflects the growing tensions in the region, with Israel using both airstrikes and ground troops along the border while Hezbollah retaliates with rocket attacks. The situation remains volatile as both sides continue their military operations.

Lebanon's National News Agency said the attack had destroyed an eight-storey building. Footage broadcast by Lebanon's Al Jadeed station showed at least one destroyed building and several others badly damaged around it.

The blasts shook the capital around 4 am (0200 GMT),  witnesses reported to Reuters. Security officials said at least four bombs were dropped in the attack.

It marked the fourth Israeli airstrike this week targeting a central area of Beirut, where the bulk of Israel's attacks have targeted the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs. On Sunday, an Israeli airstrike killed a Hezbollah media official in the Ras al-Nabaa district of central Beirut.

Israel launched a major offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon in September, following nearly a year of cross-border hostilities ignited by the Gaza war, pounding wide areas of Lebanon with airstrikes and sending troops into the south.

A US mediator travelled to Lebanon and Israel this week in an effort to secure a ceasefire. The envoy, Amos Hochstein, indicated progress had been made after meetings in Beirut on Tuesday and Wednesday before meeting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Israel Katz.

A massive Israeli air strike on central Beirut has killed at least 11 people, Lebanese officials say, destroying a eight-storey building in the latest attack on the Lebanese capital.

Explosions shook the city following the strike on the densely populated Basta district, which happened without warning at about 04:00 (02:00 GMT) on Saturday.

Lebanon's National News Agency said Saturday’s attack included a bunker buster bomb, a type of weapon previously used by Israel to kill senior Hezbollah figures, including then-leader Hassan Nasrallah.

This could indicate that a high-level official was the possible target, but there has been no immediate comment from either the Israeli military or Hezbollah.