At least 12 people, including a minor girl, were killed when two rival groups attacked each other with rocket launchers and automatic weapons in Shikarpur on Monday.

The incident occurred in Katcha area of Shikarpur district's Khanpur town over an ongoing dispute early on Monday. The clashes took place between Saad Khanani Jatoi and Badani Jatoi groups, ending in a dozen casualties and wounding many others including women and children.

The area presented the view of a battlefield as both parties freely used automatic weapons and rocket launchers while police failed to even enter the area.

The enmity between the two groups supposedly began when two persons belonging to Saad Khanani Jatoi's group were killed in a police shootout and afflicted clan accused the Badani Jatoi group of sharing information with the police.

At least 25 people have been killed over the years in the deadly clashes between the groups.

Only two bodies were brought to the nearby hospital for postmortem while the other bodies still remained at the place of the incident as the warring tribesmen restricted police officials from entering the area.

According to sources, police tried to enter the area but armed tribesmen attacked an Armoured Personnel Carrier (APC) vehicle with a rocket launcher, forcing the police to remain out of the area.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah and Home Minister Suhail Anwer Sial took notice of the deadly dispute and sought a detailed report from Deputy Inspector General Police Larkana Abdullah Shaikh.

According to media reports, Senior Superintendent Police (SSP) Shikarpur Zeeshan Siddiqui was sent on a forced leave by the Sindh government while the additional charge of Shikarpur was handed over to Sajjad Ahmed, the SSP of Kamber-Shahdadkot.