ABBOTTABAD, May 28: Three persons were killed and arms were recovered in a police operation in Havelian here on Tuesday.

The operation was conducted on the complaint of a villager, Riasat Ali, who feared that a gang of criminals wanted to kidnap him for ransom, Havelian police said.

Giving details of the operation, police said that a strong contingent of police, on the orders of the SSP Abbottabad, Mehmood Iqbal, surrounded a house in Gujal Havelian where the suspected criminals were said to be hiding.

The criminals were ordered to surrender, police said, but they started firing from inside the house which was returned.

Following three hours of encounter, the criminals — Chanzeb and Niaz, sons of Ali Bahadar, residents of Dhanger Havelian and Shakeel, son of Abdul Jaleel, a resident of Gujal Havelian, were found dead, police claimed adding that the gangsters were wanted in a number of cases registered against them by Haripur and Havelian police stations.

Three kalashnikovs with magazines and 530 live cartridges were recovered from the scene of the encounter.