Daily Times

KHYBER AGENCY: At least five tribesmen, who some locals say were members of the peace committee, were shot dead by unidentified assassins in the Kamar Khel area of Bara tehsil, Khyber Agency, on Wednesday.

An official of the political administration told Daily Times that the targeted persons – including one who survived the ambush – belonged to Zakha Khel tribe, and were on their way back from Tirah Valley when attacked. He said that the assassins managed to flee without being noticed.

The bodies and the wounded were taken to the nearest health center for medico-legal formalities and treatment, respectively. According to local sources, three of the deceased have been identified as Jalakai Khan, Lahoor Gul and Khwandi, while the identification of remaining two could not be ascertained until the filing of this report.

No one has so far claimed responsibility for the attack, but locals said that the tribesmen of Bazaar Zakha Khel had joined forces with law enforcers, and had been fighting militants belonging to the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Bara-based Lashkar-e-Islam (LI) in Tirah Valley.

The official said that most of the dwellers of Tirah Valley had two residences – one each in upper and lower Tirah Valley – so their movement was quite frequent.

NNI news agency reported that the injured person, identified as Naik Muhammad, had been shifted to agency headquarter hospital of Landikotal.