( AFP ) - Fighting between rival Sunni and Shiite Muslims in northwestern Pakistan's tribal belt has claimed at least 61 lives, security sources and state media reported Sunday.
Pakistan state television said another 150 people were injured as heavily armed tribesmen clashed in the Kurram district bordering Afghanistan.
Witnesses said Sunday that fighting had continued overnight in Parachinar, the main town which has been under an indefinite curfew since Friday.
Security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said at least 61 people had died in the latest fighting in Parachinar, where sectarian clashes in April had killed 55.
Fighters from the Shiite-dominated Turi tribe and the mainly Sunni Muslim Mengal clan were perched on rooftops and hills overlooking Parachinar, armed with rockets and a mix of heavy and light weapons, witnesses said.
"Both are well entrenched and they are firing on each other," one resident said on condition of anonymity.
"I can't give you the exact casualty figure as fighting is still going on. Last night, we had 45 dead and up to 90 wounded," local administration chief Fakhre Alam told AFP.
"The death toll might have gone up as both sides are using heavy weapons," he added, saying authorities were trying to control the situation.
Residents, witnesses and state media had put the death toll Saturday at 30 by the time night fell.
Shiites account for 20 percent of Pakistan's 160 million Sunni-dominated population but are in the majority in Parachinar.