LANDI KOTAL (Khyber Agency), Dec 2: Four people were killed and one injured when unidentified gunmen attacked a car near Bara here on Saturday. Tribal elder Haji Zareef and his four associates were on their way from Bara to Peshawar. When their car reached Sarband, some unidentified gunmen opened fire on them, critically injuring Haji Zareef and three others.

The injured were taken to a Peshawar hospital where they died. The attackers fled in a car.

The family of Haji Zareef told Dawn that they had been receiving threats from their rivals for quite some time.

Haji Zareef was considered a party to the ongoing conflict between Lashkar-i-Islam and Ansaar-ul-Islam in Tirah. Haji Zareef was also allegedly operating an illegal FM radio station in his area and was accused, by his opponents, of spreading propaganda against them.

Meanwhile, clashes continued in Tirah between the two rival groups. According to reports reaching here, one person was slightly injured in an incident and five houses were set on fire.