Sporadic gunfire continued in Pakistan's north western Kurram district on Sunday, increasing to 15 the death toll in three days of clashes, a senior local administration official said. Fighting broke out between majority Sunni and minority Shiite communities on Friday in Kurram district's central town of Parachinar 225 kilometres from North West Frontier Province capital Peshawar, dpa reported. "There haven't been any reports of fresh clashes in the town limits, but heavy weapons are being used in villages on the outskirts of Parachinar," Sahibzada Anis, who oversees the administrative affairs of the area, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa. He said so far the official figure for people killed in past three days stood at 15, but the numbers could be higher in the wake of continuing fighting in remote areas bordering Afghanistan. Dozens of people had also been wounded in skirmishes, he added. The army, which was called in soon after the sectarian clashes erupted, used helicopter gunships the previous day to strike position held by the members of fighting groups. Troops were also carrying out extensive patrols in the town where shoot-on-sight orders had been issued.
