Gunmen kill 6 barbers in a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban near the Afghan border

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani police say unidentified gunmen have shot and killed six barbers in a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban in the country’s northwest near the Afghanistan border. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the killings in Mir Ali, a town in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The incident before dawn on Tuesday shocked residents, who said the slain men all worked at various barbershops. Mir Ali served as a base for Pakistani Taliban for years until the military cleared the area of insurgents. The Pakistani Taliban are a separate group from the Afghan Taliban but they are close allies. Pakistani militants years ago had banned the trimming of beards and haircuts in Western styles.