QUETTA, Jan 6: Three suspected terrorists were killed and a constable of the Anti-Terrorist Force (ATF) was injured in a shootout near Kalat, some 145km south-east of here, on Sunday.

Two suspects died on the spot and another died from bullet wounds while he was being taken to the Civil Hospital, Kalat, Balochistan Inspector-General of Police Dr Shoaib Saddle said, while confirming the incident to Dawn.

The Kalat police and the ATF seized illegal weapons, including Kalashnikovs and hand grenades from a hideout of those killed in the shootout.

The ATF and the police conducted a joint raid on a house in the Mughalzai village to arrest some suspects, identified by those alleged terrorists, who were arrested by the Quetta local police a few days ago.

When a joint team of the police and the ATF squad, headed by Quetta SSP Abid Ali and Kalat SP Abdul Ali Tareen, asked the occupants of the house to surrender, armed men inside the house opened fire on the team.

The police and the ATF men returned the fire, which continued for five hours from 3am to 8am when an injured man came out of the house and surrendered himself to the police. He died on way to a local hospital.

Two bodies were recovered when the team entered the house after the shootout during which an ATF constable, Mohammad Arshad, was wounded. He was taken to the local hospital, from where he was shifted to the Civil Hospital, Quetta, in a critical condition.

According to the IG, those killed were not the residents of the village, where nobody knew them. “The wanted suspects were present in the house but the main door of the house was locked from outside when police raided the hideout”, he added.

He said the police had taken their identity cards into custody, but it was not clear whether those cards were genuine.

According to the cards, one of those killed belonged to Karachi, another was from Kohlu while the third person hailed from Mastung, 50km of Quetta.

“Police are investigating keeping in view of all aspects”, the IG said, adding that their links with Indian secret agency, RAW, could not be ruled.