PESHAWAR: Five members of a pro-government peace committee were shot dead by unknown gunmen in Qamber Khel area of Khyber Agency.

Security sources told DawnNews suspected militants abducted the members of Bara peace committee and later shot them dead.

Sources further said that the militants belonged to the proscribed Lashkar-i-Islam (LI) group and added that security forces had begun a search and strike operation in the area after the shooting.

Peace committee members in the country's northwestern region have been targeted by militants numerous times in the past.

Khyber links several agencies to each other, serving as a north-south route within Fata. The region has been long fought over by a mix of militant organisations, including the TTP, the Ansarul Islam and Mangal Bagh’s Lashkar-i-Islam.