BANNU, Nov 9: Six persons, including five militants, were killed when two groups exchanged fire over property dispute in Frontier Region Khadri Mamandkhel on Sunday.

Residents of the area said that 17 militants, backed by Sher Alam, visited Ishaq’ house to convince him to accept a decision taken by a jirga of Taliban and local elders recently regarding the disputed property.

They said both Sher Alam and Ishaq were close relatives but had developed enmity over a piece of land since long. The matter was resolved by Taliban and local elders recently but Ishaq backtracked from his promise, saying that the decision was imposed by Sher Alam, who had active support of Taliban.

Taliban visited Ishaq’ house on Sunday to remind him his early promise but the situation turned violent as both sides opened fire on each other. As a result Ishaq and four Taliban were killed on the spot while another militant succumbed to his injuries in a private hospital.

Two of the deceased Taliban were identified as Mohammad Salim and Khan Azam while the names of three others could not be ascertained as they belonged to FR region and their bodies were taken to some undisclosed location.