At least 19 militants were killed, and several others went missing after two rival factions of the Fitna al-Khawarij group clashed in a fierce gun battle in the Manatu area of Central Kurram district late last night, sources said on Wednesday.

According to security and local sources, the violent confrontation erupted within the jurisdiction of Chinarak police station when the Kazim Group and the Mumtaz Umti Group opened fire on each other over an extortion dispute.

Eighteen militants belonging to the Mumtaz Umti Group were killed in the exchange, while three others are reported missing. On the opposing side, one member of the Kazim Group was killed, and another went missing.

Grave-digging operations have since commenced in the Manatu area to bury the slain militants.

This is not the first time rival militant factions in the region have turned on each other.

Armed clashes between different Khawarij splinter groups have been reported on multiple occasions in the past, a pattern that local observers say reveals the true nature of these outfits.

“These elements are not fighting for any religious or ideological cause,” said one local commentator.

“They are fuelling violence purely to serve their own personal interests — power, money, and influence.”

Residents say the recurring internal feuds are severely disrupting daily civilian life in the area, with ordinary people bearing the brunt of violence they have no part in.

Security analysts, however, note that public confidence in state institutions and their ongoing counter-terrorism operations against such elements remains firm.

“The people of the region fully back the state’s efforts to eliminate these threats,” one analyst said.

“These militants are not only enemies of the state, but they do not hesitate to shed each other’s blood in their scramble for control and resources.”

The latest bloodshed further underscores that Fitna al-Khawarij factions operating in Kurram function less as an ideological movement and more as criminal networks competing for territorial dominance and extortion revenues.