KARACHI: At least two gang war members and four suspected militants — including a commander of Al Qaeda South Asia's Karachi wing — were killed and five policemen wounded during 'encounters' with Crime Investigation Department (CID) and police in different areas of the city early on Friday, DawnNews reported.

A police team headed by CID In-charge Raja Umer Khattab, acting on a tip-off, conducted a raid in the Qayyumabad area of Karachi where an alleged encounter took place.

Read: Suspected South Asian Al Qaeda commander arrested from Karachi

At least four suspected militants, including a commander of Al Qaeda South Asia's Karachi wing, were killed in the encounter, police sources said.

CID official Raja Umer said that militants were planning to attack a vehicle of an intelligence agency.

He added that suicide vests, SMG rifles and other arms and ammunition were also recovered from the militants.

In a separate incident, two gang war members were killed and five policemen injured in an exchange of fire with police in Lyari's Baghdadi area.

SSP Jawed Jiskani said that those killed in the police encounter were members of the gang war, who were involved in several crimes including the murders of ten people.

Jiskani added that arms and ammunition were also recovered from the criminals.

Lyari is one of the poorest and most violent neighbourhoods of Karachi where clashes between rival gangs linked to political and ethnic groups erupt continuously.

Also read: The year of encounters — police, Rangers killed 925 suspects across Karachi

A joint grand targeted operation was launched in Karachi amidst great fanfare in September 2013 in the hopes of improving the law and order situation in the country’s commercial capital.

Today's development comes of the first death anniversary of the city's top cop Mohammed Aslam Khan, better known as Chaudhry Aslam, who was killed in a bomb attack last year hours after his team shot dead three suspected Taliban militants in an alleged encounter in a militancy-infested locality of Karachi's Manghopir area.