Chief of tribal militia killed by Pak Taliban

Islamabad: The Pakistani Taliban shot dead the head of a pro-government tribal militia, his son and a passer-by in the country's northwest Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, police said.

The attackers, who were riding a motorcycle, fled after the incident in Swabi district, officials said.

Two armed militants fired at Etbar Khan, the head of an anti-Taliban militia of Mohmand tribal region, when he was waiting for some persons along a road.

Khan and his son Irfanullah died instantly. A local resident was also killed in the attack.

Sajjad Mohmand, the spokesman for the Taliban in Mohmand Agency, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Khan had shifted from the tribal region in 2010 and had been living in Swabi district due to threats from the Taliban.

The militants got information on his whereabouts and attacked him, police said.

Police launched a search operation for the attackers but no one was arrested.

Taliban militants frequently target pro-government elders in the tribal region. They have killed scores of tribal elders in the past few years.

The Pakistani Taliban have carried out several attacks after the May 2 killing of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in a raid by US special forces.

Two Taliban suicide bombers on Friday struck a group of security personnel in the northwestern town of Shabqadar and killed nearly 90 people, a major of them militiamen of the Frontier Constabulary.