At least seven people, including four school teachers, have been killed in two gun attacks in the Kurram district of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a senior police official said.

In one of the attacks, unidentified people fired shots inside a school’s staffroom in Tari Mangal area, killing six people, including four teachers and two laborers, said the district police chief, Mohammad Imran.

It came hours after a man was killed on Shalozan Road near Tari Mangal.

The district police chief said that both attacks were linked to a land dispute between two groups in the area.

He said in the first incident a man who belonged to one of the groups was killed in a gun attack on a vehicle on Thursday morning. When a police party left for the crime scene it also came under attack, said the police officer.

In the second attack, a group targeted a school in Tari Mangal, killing six people, said DPO Imran adding that the dead at the school included four teachers and two laborers.

Earlier, officials said seven teachers were killed when unidentified people fired shots inside a school staffroom in Tari Mangal and that an eighth school teacher was gunned down as he traveled in a vehicle on Shalozan Road.

However, the district police chief issued a statement in the evening, revising the death toll and providing details about the attack.

An emergency was declared at the district’s hospitals after the school attack.

Tari Mangal is a village located around 20 km from Parachinar, the district headquarters of Kurram. Shalozan lies around 6km southeast of Tari Mangal.

Farzana Ali of Aaj News said that the Tari Mangal region is known for sectarian tensions but it is also located near the border with Afghanistan and hence it would be premature to say anything about the nature of the firing incidents.

Kurram has seen several cross-border terrorist attacks from Afghanistan.

Also on Thursday, the ISPR reported that six soldiers had been martyred in the neighbouring North Waziristan district.

Identies of the dead

When shots were fired in the staffroom of the Government High School Tari Mangal, students were taking matriculation exams.

Teachers from other parts of the district were also at the school for the exams.

Police sources said six people killed at the school were identified as Mir Hussain, Jawad Hussain, Naveed Hussain, Jawad Ali, Mohammad Ali, and Ali Hussain. They were from the Tori and Bangash tribes.

The man who was killed in the vehicle earlier in the day was identified as Mohammad Sharif.

Exams postponed and roads closed

After the gun attacks, the provincial authorities postponed the matriculation examinations in the district.

KP Government Advisor on Education Rehmat Salam Khattak announced the decision and said that a new schedule for the examination would be issued later.

The exams being held under the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Kohat had commenced on April 28.

The authorities have also closed several roads in the district to maintain the law and order situation.

President Alvi condemns the attacks

President Dr Arif Alvi condemned the attacks in Kurram saying “on duty” teachers were targeted.

“The attack on teachers by the enemies of knowledge is condemnable,” he said.

PPP Chairman and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said the attackers should be brought to justice immediately.

Police and administration should immediately investigate the incident, and inform the public about the facts, he said in a statement.

Prevention of such incidents should be ensured in the future, he said.

More to follow…