[DAWN] LAHORE: Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of police claimed on Wednesday to have killed nine Al Qaeda turbans in an encounter in Sheikhupura in wee hours of Wednesday after raiding their hideout.A CTD front man said they received a tip-off that some turbans were hiding in Kheroki Malian, Sheikhupura, to launch attacks on police personnel and offices of sensitive agencies in and around Lahore.
He said a police team raided the place around 1am to arrest the suspects, making announcements asking them to surrender.
He said the suspects, who were in two to three small groups, started firing at CTD personnel. He said the CTD personnel returned the fire in self-defence. When the firing stopped, the personnel found nine bad boys, yet to be identified, lying dead.
The CTD claimed the suspects were killed in firing by their own accomplices.
The front man said some four to five suspects expeditiously departed at a goodly pace taking benefit of darkness.
He said the CTD team searched the bad boys’ hideout and recovered six kilograms of kaboom, prima cord, four Kalashnikovs, five pistols, as many cycle of violences and bullets.
The team later also launched a search operation in and around Sheikhupura to arrest the fleeing suspects.
Police shifted the bodies to city morgue for identification and started investigation after registration of a case against the suspects, the front man said.