PESHAWAR: Five militants were killed, including a key Lashkar-i-Islam (LI) commander Spinbat, in a clash with fighters belonging to the peace committee Tauheedul Islam, in Khyber Agency's Tirah valley on Thursday.

Official sources said that the militants attacked the peace committee volunteers in the remote Narai Baba area of Tirah Valley. This led to a gun battle between the two groups and left five militants dead, including their key commander Spinbat.

Seven peace volunteers, who belonged to peace committee Tauheedul Islam, were also injured in the clash.

Khyber Agency is one of Pakistan’s seven semi-autonomous tribal regions in the area, where Pakistani Taliban and Al Qaeda-linked militants are said to have carved out strongholds.

Pakistan's military launched the operation ‘Khyber-1’ last month with air strikes against LI hideouts in areas under the Mangal Bagh-led group’s control in Tirah and Bara.

The operation was launched amidst Zarb-i-Azb, a full-fledged military operation being conducted by the army against Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and other militants in the North Waziristan tribal region.

The military operation has reportedly seen a number of militant hideouts attacked and destroyed. It has also left over 245,482 people displaced.