Islamabad, July 29 (IANS/EFE): At least six people, including a local political leader's brother, were killed Tuesday in an attack by an armed group in northwestern Pakistan, a police official said.
The attack was made early Tuesday on the house of Bakht Baidar, a politician belonging to the Qaumi Watan Party (QWP), in the Lower Dir district of the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province.
Among those killed was Baidar's brother, Mohammad Ishaq Baidar, police spokesperson Mushtaq Khattak told Efe news agency.
The politician, who escaped unharmed, has held several posts in the local government of the region, which with neighbouring tribal areas on the border with Afghanistan, is a haven for jihadi groups, Al Qaeda militants and the Pakistani and Afghan Taliban.
On June 15, the Pakistani armed forces launched an offensive against the Taliban and other jihadi groups operating in North Warizistan.
Since the start of that offensive, in which the army deployed more than 30,000 troops, over 400 "terrorists" have been killed, according to the military.
About 698,000 civilians, mostly children and women, have been forced to abandon their homes and seek refuge in camps set up by the country's army and government and the UN.