LARKANA: Two persons were gunned down and seven others sustained bullet wounds in an attack and ensuing gun battle involving Mahar and Abro tribesmen near Malahi Shaikh village on the outskirts of the city on Tuesday.

Larkana SSP Kamran Nawaz said a group of armed Abros attacked some Mahar tribesmen, who were busy getting a pole-mounted transformer (PMT) repaired. Two persons, Fayyaz Mahar and Irfan Mahar died on the spot and some others were wounded.

He said that Mahars retaliated the attack by targeting the house of Qutub Abro, situated within the city, which came under heavy firing. Three passers-by were also hit by stray bullets.

The two sides continued to trade fire until a strong contingent of police rushed to the affected localities and brought the situation under control, he added.

The two bodies, along with seven wounded victims, were taken to the Chandka Medical College Hospital by police vans. A strict cordon was laid by police around the hospital to protect the wounded victims amid a tense situation prevailing in the area. Police were also deployed in the villages where Mahars and Abros live to prevent a flare-up.

Officials at the Akil police station said that Mahars and Abros of the area had an old enmity and been attacking each other for some time. Their hostility had so far claimed 11 lives, they said.

Published in Dawn, June 15th, 2016