PESHAWAR: Four militants were killed in a police 'encounter' in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa's Swabi district on Wednesday, police said.

The militants were identified as Abbas, Muhammad Zeb, Liaquat and Hazrat Bilal by the police. Abbas is believed to be a resident of Swabi district, Zeb of Mohmand Agency, while the other two are from Peshawar.

Their affiliation with any terrorist outfit is yet to be ascertained.

Police had received information regarding the presence of militants in Swabi's Ajmer area and had commenced a search operation which lasted for hours, District Police Officer (DPO) Swabi Javed Iqbal Wazir told DawnNews.

During the operation, a group of around 30 militants opened fire on the police party, the DPO said. Police responded with retaliatory firing, and subsequently four militants were killed during the ensuing encounter. The other militants managed to flee.

Later, 25 suspects were taken into custody from the area as police continued the search operation after the alleged encounter.

Considered to be a gateway between KP and Punjab, Swabi is one of the better developed regions in the province.

Since last year's attack on Peshawar's Army Public School, security forces have increased targeted operations and snap checking in different parts of the province to counter the scourge of terrorism.

Charsadda mosque raid: 25kg of explosives seized

At least 25 kilograms of explosive material, 14 Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), 15 detonators and two cell phones were recovered from a prayer leader's room during a raid on a Charsadda mosque on Wednesday, police said.

District Police Officer (DPO) Charsadda Shafiullah said the weaponry was recovered from the room allocated to the prayer leader of the mosque, Maulvi Ehsan.

Maulvi Ehsan, an Afghan national living in Charsadda's Umarzai area was not present at the time and could not be taken into custody. However, area residents claimed he had been picked up by intelligence personnel a few days ago. DPO Shafiullah did not comment on the claims.

Police conducted an intelligence-based raid on the mosque. "They were apparently planning some big terrorist activity," Shafiullah said.

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