QUETTA: Four suspected militants were killed in a gun battle with security forces in the Kanak area of Mastung district, officials said on Friday.

Police and personnel of an antiterrorism force conducted a search operation on a tip-off in Kanak’s Killi Yaro village late on Thursday night.

According to sources, hundreds of security personnel moved into the area and cordoned off the village.

As the militants present in the area started firing, the security forces retaliated. The gun battle continued for over three hours.

“Four suspected militants were killed in the heavy exchange of fire in Killi Yaro,” a senior police officer said, adding that a huge quantity of arms and ammunition was recovered from their hideouts which included automatic weapons, grenade and other explosives.

“The door-to-door search operation continued till early hours of Friday and many suspects were taken into custody for interrogation,” official sources said, adding that the militants killed in the gun battle belonged to a banned sectarian group which was involved in civil hospital suicide bombing and kidnapping of Balochistan Higher Education Secretary Abdullah Jan.

Sources revealed that security forces conducted the raid on receiving information from a militant who was arrested by the forces two months ago for his alleged involvement in the civil hospital attack, police training college and Shah Noorani shrine bombings. The militant was also killed during the exchange of fire, confirmed sources.

Bodies of all four suspected terrorists were shifted to Quetta late night for autopsy and medico-legal formalities. They could not be identified till late night.

Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Sanaullah Zehri lauded the police for the successful operation, saying that police and personnel of other security forces rendered great sacrifices for the restoration of peace and order in the province.

Inspector General Police Ahsan Mehmoob briefed the chief minister on the operation.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2017