KARACHI, Jan 15: Security forces arrested 79 suspected militants here on Thursday after a pre-dawn raid on their hideout in which two policemen were killed. A sizeable quantity of weapons and ammunition were seized, officials said.

Seven policemen were injured in the fierce gunbattle with the militants, a city police official said, adding that security forces might have helped thwart an attack.

Police and paramilitary troops conducted a raid in the Sohrab Goth area on a tip-off about the presence of some militants there. The police were then fired upon.

Police and paramilitary forces had recovered weapons from the militants’ hideout, the official said, adding: “We have certainly saved the city from a possible sabotage activity.”