MALAKAND:Nine family members were shot and killed in Malakand in a tragic incident that seems to be a matrimonial dispute, police said Wednesday.

All the family members, who were asleep, were shot dead by some unknown assailants after entering the house in Bagar Dara Khar area of Malakand.

Among the dead are four women, two children and three men. Local Levies officials rushed to the crime scene after receiving alert and shifted the bodies to Batkhela hospital for autopsies.

Assistant Commissioner Batkhela Shakeel Ahmad Khan said that the incident appeared to be a matrimonial dispute.

The Malakand Levies has started an investigation and arrested three suspects. The suspects have confessed the crime during investigation.