At least 18 people, including two women, were killed in a suspected militant attack on a convoy of vehicles being escorted by security forces in a Pakistani tribal region on the Afghan border.
Militants opened fire on civilian vehicles in the convoy as it headed to the main northwestern city of Peshawar from Parachinar.
Parachinar is the main town of the Pashtun-dominated Kurram region where the army has killed nearly 100 militants in operations in the past few months.
A tribal leader, Mussrat Bangash, confirmed the toll and said two women were among the dead. An official had earlier told Reuters five people had been killed.
Militants have gone on the offensive again after a recent lull in violence.
The attacks challenge government assertions that a major assault in the militant stronghold of South Waziristan along with smaller operations in other regions had dealt a major blow to insurgents.
The road linking Kurram with Peshawar often remains closed because of militants and Pakistan army operations, forcing people to take a longer route through Afghanistan to travel to the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province and its capital, Peshawar.
But that route is not safe. At least 11 people were killed in a similar attack last week when a passenger bus heading to Peshawar was attacked inside Afghanistan.
