KOHAT, May 7 At least five members of a rescue party were killed and eight others injured when Taliban militants attacked them with rockets and hand-grenades in Tora Warai area of Hangu district on Wednesday night.

The rescue party comprising 250 villagers was on a mission to trace a kidnapped man. The deceased were identified as Mir Nawaz, Allah Noor, Akhtar Khan, Faizullah and Noor Wali.

Some members of the party and police told this correspondent that Haji Saifullah, Juma Khan and Meharban were going to the Dalan area from Sadda tehsil of Kurram Agency on Wednesday evening when they were stopped by some armed men who bundled them into a tractor trolley they had earlier stolen.However, Juma Khan and Meharban managed to escape. They reached their village and informed the local people about the incident.

They also contacted MPA Maulvi Mufti Janan to accompany them to hold talks with the Taliban for the release of the elderly Haji Saifullah. But the MPA refused to accompany them.

The villagers formed a rescue party and went after the Taliban. After midnight, the party had to stop near a road block and while they were clearing the road, the Taliban attacked them.

It is learnt that the party was attacked by about 60 militants.

Local area people announced from mosques that five bodies were lying on the road. A group of people took the injured to a hospital in Thall.