KARACHI: LEAs have come hard against militants and miscreants before the New Year’s Eve, as five more suspects allegedly having ties with the militant outfit al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent were killed during an alleged encounter with the police on Saturday. The five suspected militants were killed by the District Malir police. District Malir police chief SSP Rao Anwar said that the encounter took place when the police on a tipped off conducted a raid at Ayub Goth that falls in Sohrab Goth. “We had an intelligence based information about the presence of the terrorists,” said SSP Rao Anwar. “All the militants killed were associated with the al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS). SSP Anwar said that the exchange of fire between the police and terrorists took place when the terrorists opened indiscriminate fire at the police, adding that in retaliation, the police also fired back with a full force. During the exchange of fire, five militants were killed. Their bodies were later shifted to Edh in morgue in Sohrab Goth after medico legal formalities completed at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. SSP Anwar said that one of the militants was later identified as Qari Habibillah alias Abdul Salaam Burmi. “The terrorists killed were involved in target killings of military soldiers, police officers, minorities and sectarian based killings,” he claimed. He said that an Egyptian terrorist was killed during an encounter in 2003 in al-Qaeda’s headquarter in Karachi’s Qayyumabad, adding that the killed terrorists Habibullah had been arrested in 2003 raid and later released in bail and rejoined the terror activities while joining the Dai’sh and had been involved in terror activities in Karachi. The police also claim to have recovered huge cache of arms and explosives. The cases were registered while further investigation was underway was underway. Published in Daily Times, December 31st 2017.