LANDI KOTAL, Jan 15: Bullet-riddled bodies of eight people were found in two houses in Bara on Tuesday evening.

Sources told Dawn that five bodies were found in the house of Mughal Baz and three others in the house of Gul Jamal in Alamgudar area of Sipah. They said that all the bodies had multiple bullet injuries and it appeared the victims had been shot from a close range.

Six of the dead belonged to two families related to each other. They were identified as Gul Jamal Mughal Baz, Alamgir, Noor Jamal, Umar Gul, Jangir and Atiq Khan. Two bodies could not be identified till late night.

Political Agent Khyber and Assistant Political Agent of Bara could not be contacted for their comment despite repeated attempts made by this correspondent.

It is also learnt that security forces entered Alamgudar, Arjali Nadi and Nala area on Tuesday for a search operation after the Lashkar-i-Islam terrorist group had claimed on Monday night to have kidnapped seven FC men.

Meanwhile, the death toll in the Monday night’s clash between security forces and terrorists rose to 10 which included six security men and four terrorists.

Sources in the Khyber Agency political administration said on Tuesday that the fierce gunbattle also left 26 security personnel injured, 15 of them Khasadars and 11 FC personnel.

Terrorists belonging to the Bara-based banned Lashkar-i-Islam group again attacked security checkposts in Arjali Nadi, Mashomano Adeera and Machin Dhand area of Shalobar on Tuesday night.

The sources said that both sides had used heavy weapons during more than five hours of fierce clash and security forces repulsed the militants’ attack and took back two checkposts the terrorists had overrun on Monday night.

The sources said that six security personnel and four terrorists had been killed, but a Lashkar-i-Islam spokesman denied any loss of its men in the fighting.

Meanwhile, the political administration has announced compensation of Rs200,000 for each Khasadar killed in the fighting and Rs100,000 each for the injured. They said that relatives of the deceased would be given jobs in the Levies’ Force.

Meanwhile, in Akkakhel area of Bara a man and his wife were killed when a mortar shell fell on their house. The incident took place on Tuesday morning.