Three suspected robbers were killed in a shootout with police in Quetta’s outskirts on Saturday morning, an official said.

Saddar Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Shaukat Jadoon told Dawn.com that three armed suspects opened fire on a police patrol party in the Killi Khali area, a locality on the outskirts of Quetta, within the limits of the Brewery Police Station.

“All three suspects were killed during the police’s retaliatory action,” DSP Jadoon said.

“Weapons were recovered from the possession of the dacoits,” the officer said, adding that their bodies were taken to the Bolan Medical College for medico-legal procedures.

The suspects were dacoits and were present in the area with the intention of committing a robbery, the DSP said. Further police investigation was being carried out, he added.

Last month, Sala­h­u­ddin Achakzai, a prominent tribal elder of the Achakzai tribe, was shot dead and two others were injured when arm­ed men riding motorcycles targeted them on the outskirts of Chaman.

In late August, two men were gunned down when armed men opened fire on their car near Killi Dargai on Loralai-Dera Road. This came over a week after unknown motorcyclists shot dead a Counter Terrorism Department officer in Pishin Town, officials said on Friday.