5 terrorists, policeman killed in Pakistan

Peshawar, April 16 (IANS) At least six people including a policeman and five suspected terrorists were killed in a joint operation by the Pakistan Army and the police in Peshawar city of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a statement by the military's media wing said on Tuesday.

The operation, carried out against a terrorist hideout, started on Monday night and lasted for about 17 hours after security forces acted on an intelligence tip-off regarding the presence of the militants in Hayatabad area of the city, said the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR).

The terror suspects had taken cover in a residential building from where they attacked security forces, Dawn online reported.

The suspects sprayed bullets at the police when they tried to enter the compound, triggering an exchange of fire in which a policeman and a militant were killed, Geo News reported citing the statement.

Peshawar city police chief Qazi Jameel said that one of the terror suspects had been killed on Monday night, whereas the other four were neutralised on Tuesday when more contingents of the police and Army joined the forces battling the insurgents.

The three-storey hideout of the suspects was cleared by the police and Army after successfully concluding the operation on Tuesday afternoon, said the ISPR statement.

Assistant Inspector General Shafqat Malik said 50 kg of explosive material was found installed in a bike and parts of the building. The building was demolished with explosives soon after the operation concluded, the report said.

An officer and a soldier also got injured in the clash.

The identities or affiliations of the terror suspects were not revealed, but some Pakistani media reports said that they were associated with some proscribed organization.

They were wanted for attacks on a judge and an additional inspector-general of police, according to security officials.

(This story has not been edited by Social News XYZ staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)