KOHAT, May 5: Three armed highway robbers who had let loose a reign of terror in the area for the last four months were killed in a police encounter on Monday, police said.

SSP Abid Ali told a press conference on Monday that the three criminals had snatched a motorcycle and cash from an employee of UNDP Lachi who was on his way to office from Kohat at 10.30am.

The victim, Aitbar Khan, reported the matter to the nearby Mandoori checkpoint whose staff alerted all the mobiles about the incident, and asked them to block the roads.

The police, upon spotting the three on Kamal Khel road, chased them and an exchange of fire ensued. As a result, the three were killed. Two of them were identified as Adnan Farooq, resident of Akora Khattak (Nowshera) and Mohammad Ali, resident of Zera in Orakzai Agency. The identity of the third one could not be ascertained.

The police recovered the cash and snatched motorcycles bearing number X-68541 and PR-1569 from the deceased and registered a case against them in the Saddar police station.