Seven suspected militants belonging to two banned organisations were killed in a shootout near Punjab’s Sheikhupura district during an intelligence-based police raid, officials said on Sunday.
Gunfire erupted between a police team and 10 suspected militants early on Sunday morning in a house where the group was holed up.
Police said the seven dead were killed by bullets from their own men. “When the firing stopped, seven terrorists were found dead by the firing of their own accomplices and the remaining escaped in the darkness of the night,” a police statement said.
Police said the militants belonged to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and the banned sectarian group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ). They were accused of planning attacks on security posts and law enforcement agencies in Punjab.
A Counter Terrorism Department spokesman said the Sheikhupura police received information from a credible source that nine to ten suspects belonging to the banned TTP and LeJ were present near the Parrianwala railway crossing in Sheikhupura district at around 1am on Sunday.
He claimed they were planning to attack sensitive installations and personnel belonging to law enforcement agencies in the city.
Weapons and ammunition were allegedly recovered from the suspects, including five kilogrammes of explosive material, two detonators, three motorcycles, three Kalashnikov rifles, four pistols and 150 bullets. An investigation is underway, the CTD said.
