LANDI KOTAL, Sept 13: Five persons including two tribal elders were killed in two different incidents in Tirah valley of Khyber Agency on Tuesday.

Sources said that militants kidnapped two tribal elders and a prayer leader on Sunday from near their houses in Akkakhel area. The bullet-riddled bodies of the kidnapped persons were found at a deserted place on Tuesday morning, they added.

A letter, left along the dead bodies, accused the deceased of raising a tribal lashkar and assisting security forces against militants. The tribal elders were identified as Haji Mohammad and Mohammad Amin.

In the Bazaar-Zambakhel area, two suspected militants were killed when a mortar shell exploded accidentally in a bunker.

In South Waziristan tribal region, a soldier was killed and two others were injured in a bomb blast in Laddha area on Tuesday, officials said.

They said that soldiers were conducting a search operation in the area when an improvised explosive device exploded, killing one soldier on the spot and injuring two others.

Meanwhile, two bullet-riddled bodies were found in a canal near Paharkhel Thall village on the outskirts of Lakki city on Tuesday.

Sources said that a contingent of Lakki Marwat police station immediately rushed to the place when people informed them about the presence of bodies in the area. The bodies were later shifted to City Hospital. The deceased were identified as Sadullah and Rizwanullah.

Sources said that letters were also found in the pockets of the deceased. The letters said that Sadullah was killed for uprising against Maulvi Ashraf Ali group of Taliban while Rizwanullah was killed for spying for Afghan government against Taliban.