At least three people were killed and four others, including a woman, were injured in an exchange of gunfire between two rival groups in the Kharkai area of Dargai tehsil in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Malakand district, a local official said on Monday.

“The violence was sparked by a personal feud,” Dargai Assistant Commissioner Shahbaz Khan told Dawn.com.

He confirmed that two men from one group and one from the opposing side were killed in the shootout.

Rescue officials transported the deceased and the injured to the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital in Dargai, while one of the critically wounded individuals was referred to Mardan Medical Complex for further treatment.

The levies force was quickly deployed to the area to prevent further violence and secure the scene. Authorities have launched an investigation to determine the complete details of the incident.

“This appears to be a result of longstanding personal enmity,” said AC Khan, adding that further inquiries are underway.

Last month, two people, including a woman, were killed and 11 others injured after unidentified men opened fire at a group of people returning from a funeral in Chashma Ganda area of Gumbat in KP’s Kohat district, an attack that police said was motivated by personal enmity.

In February this year, five people were murdered during a shooting in Peshawar’s Badaber area in what police described as personal enmity as the motive.