PESHAWAR, Aug 11: A would-be suicide bomber and two of his handlers were killed and a militant commander was injured in a clash with Adezai Qaumi Lashkar and police in a suburban area of a provincial metropolis on Thursday morning.

It was a successful operation against militants, said Deputy Superintendent of Police Sajjad Khan. He said that volunteers of lashkar and police killed two militants, one of them a would-be suicide bomber, during a joint action.

Two militants were killed on the spot and two others injured in the clash but one of the injured died in the nearby semi-tribal region after fleeing the area, said Dilawar Khan, the head of Adezai Qaumi Lashkar.

“However, the most wanted militant commander Jangrez managed to escape in injured condition,” he said. He added that they received information that he reached Pakho Parezi area of FR Peshawar. “He is in serious condition due to intense bleeding,” he claimed.

The deputy head of the lashkar, Fazal Malik, said that following information about entry of militant commander Jangrez in the area, their volunteers were deployed at different points and link roads to check movement of terrorists.

“Two motorcars of terrorists entered the area. One of them crossed the area and the second one was stopped but militants opened firing on us,” he said and added that two militants were killed and two others including the commander were injured in their retaliatory firing.

He said that blood stains showed that the wounded terrorist came out of the motorcar through front window and escaped. “We cordoned off the entire area but he entered maize crop and then fled towards the Pakho Parezi area of Frontier Region of Peshawar,” Mr Malik said.

The vehicles, he said, entered the area from Akakhel via Matani but security agencies intercepted their phone calls and continuously monitored their movement. The militant while sitting inside the maize field also talked to his accomplices in the tribal region. However, he managed to escape, he added.

“We recovered one Kalashnikov and one hand grenade from the motorcar and took the vehicle bearing registration number LRH-1982 into custody,” he said. He added that police had brought sniffer dogs to chase the fleeing militant but the dogs avoided following his footprints despite blood stains.

Mr Malik said that heavy contingents of police were posted in the area following reports about entry of militants. Similarly, he said, personnel of security forces also arrived to support volunteers and police. He said that a suicide blast by a woman in Peshawar further complicated the situation. He said that he barred stranger women from entering his residence.