QUETTA Six people were killed and eight others injured in a gunbattle between two groups of Jatak tribe in the Mula area of Khuzdar district on Tuesday.

Police said the clash was caused by a dispute over the ownership of a hill.

The firing started in the morning and both sides used rockets, machine-guns and other weapons.

'Five people from both sides were killed on the spot and another died in the hospital,' DPO Ghulam Mohammad Lashari told Dawn.

'The condition of four of the injured is serious and we are trying to save their lives,' a doctor said.

Police and anti-terrorist force personnel reached the area and persuaded the combatants to stop firing and vacate their trenches.

'The situation is now under control,' Mr Lashari said, adding that security personnel had been deployed to avert further clashes.

Police have registered a case and convened a meeting of tribal elders to resolve the dispute.