Pakistan security forces kill 5 militants in Karachi

Asia-Pacific, News April 8, 2015 , by IRIA No Comments

Pakistani authorities say at least five pro-Taliban militants, including a key commander, have been killed in an encounter with paramilitary soldiers in the south.

A spokesman for Pakistan’s Special Forces, known as Rangers, said two soldiers were also injured in the operation on Wednesday in the Kaemari Town of the coastal city of Karachi.

According to the spokesman, the militants opened fire when a paramilitary unit reached a house after a tip-off by a local resident of their presence in the area.

The Rangers reportedly recovered a large amount of arms from the site, including hand grenades, Kalashnikovs and ammunition.

Local media reported that the militants belonged to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group and that its Karachi commander Ilyas Kahsmiri and four of his accomplices were killed in the raid.

This comes as a large contingent of paramilitary forces has been conducting intensive security operations for what they call flushing militants and criminals out of the troubled city.

On March 21, Pakistani security forces killed at least 80 suspected pro-Taliban terrorists and injured nearly 100 others in the northwest of the country near the Afghan border.

The militant groups in Pakistan have carried out numerous attacks against Pakistani security forces and civilians.

Many Pakistanis have lost their lives in bombings and other militant attacks in the country since 2001, when the Pakistani government entered an alliance with the US in its war on terror.

CAH/NN