KARACHI. Police on Saturday claimed to have killed four suspected militants belonging to banned outfits during an “encounter” in the outskirts of the metropolis.

Malir SSP Rao Anwar said that suspects were allegedly involved in the killing of security personnel and members of Shia community.

The senior police official claimed that the deceased were members of banned outfits — Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent and Lashkar-i-Jhangvi.

Police acted on an information provided by the already arrested suspects and was backed by intelligence agencies, said Anwar.

The raid was carried out near residential compound off Superhighway near Inara Garden — a residential complex of members of Ismaili community, he added.

“Suspects on seeing the police resorted to firing and in an ensuing encounter, four gunmen got gunned down,” claimed the Malir SSP.

Anwar identified two of the deceased as Noman Akhter and Sohail alias Kanga.

They deceased were involved in the targeted killings of traffic officials, policemen and members of Shia community. The police also claimed to have seized a cache of weapons from the custody of suspected militants.

Soon after the encounter in which four militants got killed, four suspects riding two motorcycles attacked a police post near Al-Asif Square in Sohrab Goth, said the Malir SSP.

The opened fire on the police check post from some distance but policemen manning the bunker retaliated with return fire, forcing the attacker to flee.