MIRAMSHAH, Dec 8: The death toll from Wednesday’s bloody clash rose to 21 as militants continued their hunt for members of a group that locals said was involved in extortion. Armed with rockets and other heavy weapons, groups of militants, known as Taliban, riding pick-up trucks searched houses in Miramshah looking for associates of the ringleader, Muhammad Hakim.

Witnesses said that two members of the Hakim group were captured and executed summarily by the Taliban on Wednesday evening. Bullet-riddled bodies of four others, who had been captured on Wednesday night, were thrown into the open in Miramshah on Thursday morning.

With the latest killings, the figure of those killed in the bloody clash since Wednesday shot up to 21. Hakim, the alleged ringleader, has been under government’s custody for quite some time.

Three houses belonging to members of the Hakim group were also set on fire while warnings have been issued to local residents against giving shelter to members of this group who are still at large. “A house-to-house search is going on,” one witness said.

Local clerics and elected representatives, affiliated with the JUI (F), have backed the action, accusing the administration of prompting the Taliban to take action after failing to put an end to the gang’s high-handedness.

Khasadars, who were withdrawn by political authorities to save them from reprisals, remained off-duty. There was no indication that the authorities planned any action to re-establish its writ.

Militants who had thronged Eidgah dispersed on Thursday morning and allowed the administration to pick up the bodies.

The bodies were bundled into a tractor and taken to a local graveyard for burial without any funeral.

There were unconfirmed reports that the Taliban shura had a meeting at Angar Kalli, 5km to the south of Miramshah, to take stock of the situation and work out future course of action. No details were available of the secret meeting.