[Dawn] Security forces killed six leading activists of the banned Lashkar-i-Islam (LI) militant organisation in different localities of Bara during a search and cordon operation on Thursday. The six were identified as Hazrat Muhammad, a shura member of the organisation and head of its 'court'; Abdul Khaliq, technical operator of LI's illegal FM radio station; Yarmat Khan, a nephew of LI chief Mangal Bagh; and Nawab Khan Akkakhel, Jalat Khan and Kamran who belonged to Bar Qambarkhel chapter of the organisation.
According to officials, the militants were killed in a shootout with security forces when they tried to escape after they had been captured. In a call made from an unspecified place, LI spokesman Haji Zar Khan claimed that all those killed were tribesmen detained during the search operation.
The Lashkar-e-Islami (LI) executed four men on Thursday after pronouncing them guilty of abduction and murder at a self-styled court, witnesses and a spokesman said. The executions by firing squad took place near Bara tehsil of Khyber Agency. The LI announced the impending execution by mosque loudspeakers in Bar Qambarkhel village, 10 kilometres northwest of Bara, late on Wednesday and urged locals to witness the killings, a local tribesman told AFP. "Four blindfolded criminals with hands tied behind their backs were brought by LI men and lined up outside the mosque. Four LI fighters sprayed bullets, killing them on the spot," said witness Malik Qasim Khan Afridi. The killings were carried out after morning prayers, he said. "The execution of four men allegedly involved in abduction and murder of innocent people was carried out after a sharia court procedure," said LI spokesman