LANDI KOTAL (Khyber Agency), June 23: Supporters of the Ansaar-ul-Islam and Lashkar-i-Islam are engaged in an intense gun battle in the Tirah area with the two groups giving conflicting figures about casualties.

According to officials, four people have been injured. Maulana Mustamin, a supporter of Ansaar-ul-Islam, said that five people had been killed while three of his men had been injured in fighting between the two groups.

The Lashkar-i-Islam denied the reports and said that none of its supporters had been killed or injured.

The fighting restarted early on Saturday morning when some armed activists of Lashkar-i-Islam attacked two bunkers of their rival group in the Sandapal area of Tirah Valley. Initially, they reportedly captured both bunkers but retreated to their previous positions after a fierce gun battle.

The Ansaar sources said that the fighting lasted for at least 13 hours during which they pushed back their rivals from the Mudai Morcha, which they had earlier occupied. The conflict has claimed at least 200 lives in the past year and a half.