PARACHINAR: The inspector-general of the Frontier Corps (FC), Maj Gen Mazhar Shaheen, said on Wednesday that with the help of local communities the security forces would foil the designs of elements trying to create sectarian discord in the Kurram Agency through acts of terrorism.

Speaking at a jirga here, he announced that heirs of each of the 14 persons who died when a bomb explosion hit a passenger van on Tuesday would be paid Rs200,000 in compensation.

A remote-controlled explosive device planted along the road in the Godar area struck a van carrying 25 people, including women, children and four members of the Khasadar Force.

A breakaway faction of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Maj Gen Shaheen told the jirga that militants were now mostly targeting innocent civilians because their infrastructure and networks had largely been dismantled by the forces. He assured the audience that perpetrators of the bomb attack would be brought to justice as the authorities were investigating the incident from every possible angle.

The FC chief also visited the area in the agency`s Central tehsil where the explosion took place, and expressed sympathies with the bereaved families.