5 militants killed in shootout in south Pakistan

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — Police killed five suspected militants Saturday in a nighttime raid on

a Karachi apartment housing insurgents loyal to the Pakistani Taliban leader blamed for a wave of

suicide attacks, a top official said.

City police chief Waseem Ahmed said officers found a large quantity of weapons and explosives

in the apartment. He said the militants were planning terror attacks in Pakistan's biggest city.

Police taking part in the raid early Saturday told the militants to surrender, but they shot at police,

Ahmed said. In the gunbattle that ensued, five militants were killed, five were wounded and six

escaped in the darkness, he said.

"All the dead belonged to Baitullah Mehsud. They were planning to target the city for their

terrorist activities," Ahmed said.

Mehsud is blamed for a wave of suicide bombings across Pakistan that spokesmen for his group

have said is in retaliation for two military offensives against Taliban in the country's volatile

northwest.

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