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![Bannu, a town 240km southwest of Islamabad, has seen many Taliban attacks in the past [EPA]](http://mwcnews.net/images/stories/Pakistan/2/1/2/3/4/Bannu.jpg "Bannu, a town 240km southwest of Islamabad, has seen many Taliban attacks in the past [EPA]") | | Bannu, a town 240km southwest of Islamabad, has seen many Taliban attacks in the past [EPA] |
At least four pro-government tribal elders have been shot dead in an attack by Taliban fighters in the country's northwest, police say.
The assailants ambushed cars carrying members of the anti-Taliban committee, who were travelling to meet security officials in Bannu district on Thursday. Bannu is located 240km southwest of Islamabad, the country's capital. "Taliban militants attacked the tribal elders who were on their way to a nearby village to mediate a dispute between local people," Iqbal Marwat, a police chief, said. The victims included Malik Sultan, a tribal chief, who was active in raising a government-sponsored militia against fighters in the area, Marwat said. The attack followed another attack by fighters on Thursday, which killed two members of another anti-Taliban committee in Swat, in the North West Frontier Province. The assailants struck as members of the committee slept in Swat's Sertelegram area, Mohammad Ibrar Khan, the mayor, said. Security guards were reported to have battled with the fighters and killed several of them, although no bodies were recovered. Local residents formed the group last week to protect the area from Taliban fighters who were rooted out by an army offensive last month.
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Tags: Pakistan elders
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