Pakistani city mourns 42 people who were ambushed and killed in gun attack

Protesters in Pakistan's restive northwest chanted anti-government slogans on Friday as funeral prayers were held for 42 Shiites 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 travelling 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. Those killed included six women and 20 others were injured.

Survivors said the assailants emerged from a vehicle and sprayed the buses and cars with bullets. Nobody has claimed responsibility for the attack and police have not identified a motive.

Thursday’s attack took place in Kurram, an area where Shiites dominate. Sectarian clashes between the group and Pakistan’s majority Sunnis  have killed dozens of people in recent months.

Tribal elder Jalal Bangash said the bodies began arriving in the city on Thursday evening. The Shiite community group Anjuman Hussainia Parachinar announced three days of mourning.

Coffins were draped in white cloth that bore red calligraphy. It read "Labbaik ya Hussein.”

Locals carried the coffins aloft through Parachinar as people thronged the streets. Markets, shops, roads and schools were closed. Locals and relatives of the victims staged a sit-in, demanding action against the perpetrators.

Ali Ghulam lost his nephew in the attack. "He was a very innocent and noble man, only 40, and left behind small kids,” said Ghulam. "He was working to feed his children, he never fought with anyone. Now we are worried about his family and what we will do for them.”

Protests kicked off in parts of the city, with people chanting anti-government slogans. Some people set alight check posts and the gate at the entrance of the city. Elders have called for calm.