Kurram Agency: An explosion took place in Parachinar, headquarters of Kurram Agency, on Friday, 31 March 2017. So far, 22 civilians are reported to have lost their lives and 57 others are wounded. The incident took place in front of an Imam Bargah in Noor Market area of Parachinar. It is being suspected that the explosion was caused after a suicide bomber set off his explosives; however, there has been no confirmation of the same. The apparent target of the attack could be an Imambargh located in the vicinity of the place where the attack took place. TTP Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (TTP-JA) has claimed responsibility for the attack, through a video message provided to various media outlets in the country.
Kurram Agency has remained very volatile in the past few years. According to FRC Annual Security Report for the year 2016, the Agency recorded a total of 14 terrorist incidents. Since January 2017, there has been a total of four terrorist attacks in the Agency. The Kurram Agency holds strategic significance since it connects the northern agencies of FATA with the southern agencies. Due to its sizeable Shia population (approx. 40%), it has remained volatile since decades due to Sunni-Shia sectarian violence.
