Militants target Pakistan elders

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Militants have staged two attacks against elders who have stood up to the Taliban in north-western Pakistan, killing one in his home, police say.

A group of militants opened fire on the house of an elder in the Bajaur region around midnight, shooting him dead.

Hours later, on the outskirts of the city of Peshawar, armed militants disguised as burka-clad women attempted to attack mayor Mohammad Fahim Khan.

Three of the militants were killed in a gun battle with his guards.

The attacks come a day after a suicide bomber detonated his car, crammed with explosives, as his vehicle was searched at a checkpoint in Peshawar, killing at least 15.

Mr Khan described how some 50 attackers approached his home.

"My men stopped them and asked for identification but they started firing after flinging off the burkas. It is 100% sure that these people came to kill me. They left behind grenades and Kalashnikovs," he said.

More than 300 civilians and security personnel have been killed in the region over the last month in response to the Pakistani army's offensive against al-Qaeda and the Taliban in South Waziristan.