The bodies of at least six people were found in the Mir Ali area of the North Waziristan district on Tuesday morning, a senior police official said.

Speaking to Dawn.com, Bannu Regional Police Officer Qasim Ali Khan said the bodies were recovered from fields in the Mosaki area of Mir Ali last night. The deceased were killed by unidentified assailants, he said.

The senior official said that the slain individuals worked as barbers in the area and hailed from Punjab. “One of the slain men had a computerised identification card which shows he belongs to Dera Ghazi Khan,” the official added.

Khan said all the bodies had been moved to a nearby hospital for medico-legal formalities.

It must be noted that at least five terrorists were killed in an intelligence-based operation by security forces in the Mir Ali area three days ago.

According to the Inter-Services Public Relations, the terrorists had been actively involved in numerous terrorist activities against security forces as well as extortion and targeted killings of civilians.