Pakistan’s military says security forces have raided a militant hideout, triggering a shootout in which an intelligence officer and a notorious militant wanted for over 100 deaths of minority Shiites were killed along with two other suspects.
The military says Wednesday’s raid was carried out on a tip in Killi Almas village near Quetta, the capital of troubled Baluchistan province. It says three militants were killed, including Salman Badeni, a provincial commander of the sectarian Lashkar-e-Jhangvi group.
It says a military intelligence officer also died during the intense firefight.
The raid came weeks after Shiites sought protection from the army, saying they had lost thousands of people in militant attacks in recent years. Sunni extremists view Shiites as apostates.