KARACHI: Police on Monday claimed to have killed two suspected militants and arrested a third one in Sohrab Goth besides killing three suspects in Lyari and Steel Town in ‘encounters’.

Contingents of police on a tip-off about the presence of the militants conducted a raid on their alleged hideout in Machhar Colony, said Sohrab Goth DSP Qamar Ahmed. The suspects opened fire on the police party in an attempt to escape, and in the ‘retaliatory firing’ two suspects were killed.

During the shootout, a fire broke out in the hideout where explosive material was also kept, but the fire helped the police arrest one of the suspects who was trying to scale a wall, added the officer.

He identified the dead men as Mohammed Zaman and Irshad and the held man as Qari Ehsanullah.

“They belonged to the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan’s Abid Muchhar group,” said DSP Qamar.

They were allegedly involved in kidnapping for ransom, targeted killings and other crimes.

The police said they found explosive material and arms and ammunition in the hideout. The bodies were taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for a post-mortem examination.

This was a fifth such incident in the east zone of the city against militants as previously most such actions took place in the west zone of the police.

Meanwhile, three suspects were shot dead in alleged encounters in Lyari and Steel Town, officials said on Monday.

On a tip-off, police and Rangers conducted a raid in Moosa Lane, Bagdadi. On seeing the law-enforcers, the suspects opened fire them. In ‘retaliatory firing’, a suspect identified as Sardar Shah, alias Sardaru, was killed at 1.40am.

The body was taken to the Civil Hospital Karachi.

The dead man was allegedly involved in the killing of a police head constable of the CID, Mohammed Siddiq, in 2012 and in other targeted killings and extortion, said City SSP Sheeraz Nazeer.

A Baghdadi police official said Sardar was affiliated with the Uzair Baloch gang and had allegedly killed sub-inspector Rafiq Baloch in Ramazan and sub-inspector Manzoor Illahi one and a half years ago.

In the other incident, in Steel Town, two suspects were shot dead.

Five suspects were allegedly looting people on the link road leading to the Superhighway at around 4am when a police party reached there. In the ensuing encounter, two suspects, in their mid-20s, were gunned down while their accomplices escaped, said Steel Town SHO Haroon Korai.

The police seized two motorbikes, cash and other valuables they had snatched from people. The bodies were taken to the Edhi morgue for want of identification after a post-mortem examination conducted at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre.

Robbers kill man in Defence

A 30-year-old man was shot dead by suspected robbers on resistance in the Defence Housing Authority, Phase-VI, on Monday noon, Darakhshan police officials said.

They added that two suspects riding a motorcycle intercepted Sajjad near Shahbaz Commercial Area at 12.30pm with the intention to rob him. As he put up resistance, the suspects opened fire on him and fled. He was taken to the JPMC, where doctors declared him dead.

The victim, originally hailing from Hazara division, was an electrician working at a shop on Khayaban-i-Shahbaz.

Published in Dawn, August 12th , 2014