Clashes Kill 16 People in NW Pakistan

Kurram, formerly a semi-autonomous area, has a history of bloody confrontations between tribes that have claimed hundreds of lives over the years.

A convoy was travelling under the protection of 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, Hindustan Times reported. 

Frontier police responded and killed two of the attackers, 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.

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 honor codes.