Nine members of a family, including three children, were killed today in Pakistan's restive northwest when militants armed with automatic weapons and grenades raided the home of an anti-Taliban activist.
The pre-dawn attack took place in the Mashokhel area of Badabiar village, a suburban rural locality of Peshawar district. After the assault local residents started protesting against the killings and blocked traffic.
Over 20 armed militants attacked the house of Israr Khan, killing him along with eight other family members on the spot. Police said the attack took place at around 5 am (local time).
Police initially said ten people were killed in the attack, however they later said the death toll was nine.
The gunmen first threw hand grenades on the house and later opened indiscriminate fire on the family, police said.
When people came out of their houses to see what had happened, the attackers started firing at them.
Local residents told Express News that some of those killed were members of a local peace committee called 'Aman Lashkar'.
They said four members of the family were killed a few days ago in a gun battle with militants. A militant had also been killed in the gun battle then.
Israr's brother, Zafar, who served in the community police, was killed in an armed attack about 18 months ago.
Police said the attackers had targeted the family because of their affiliation to the local peace committee.
Bomb Disposal Unit also reached the spot along with police. The bodies of the victims were taken to a local hospital for post-mortem.
