PARACHINAR, July 10 Eleven tribesmen of Kurram Agency were killed and three others wounded when unidentified people ambushed their vehicle in Afghanistan on Saturday, according to officials and relatives.

The dead were on their way to Peshawar via Kabul when gunmen opened fire at their vehicle in Wazza area of Afghanistan's Paktia province. They belonged to Parachinar, the headquarters of the agency.

Peshawar-bound travellers from Kurram Agency have to first make a detour to Kabul as the security situation has made the Thall-Parachinar road unsafe.

Residents of Kurram have often come under attack in Afghanistan and on the Thall-Parachinar Road over the past three years.

The road, linking Kurram with the rest of the country, has been partially opened for transporting food and medical supplies to Parachinar and paramilitary forces escort the convoy. Passengers, however, cannot use the road.

Traders have to pay an amount ranging between Rs80,000 and Rs100,000 for hiring a truck to send goods from Peshawar to Parachinar.

Afghan officials handed over the bodies to the relatives while three wounded people were airlifted to Kabul for treatment.

The dead have been identified as Jawad, Ibrahim, Mujahid, Zawar Hussain, Noor Hussain, Abbas Ali, Akbar Hussain, Mir Agha, Mir Hussain, Ghulam Raza and Syed Golu.

The incident sparked tension in the area and all bazaars were closed in Parachinar. Local people blamed the government for the killing and called for reopening of the Thall-Parachinar road.