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Policeman, Six Suspected Militants Killed In Shoot-Out In Northwest Pakistan


A raid by security forces on a militant hideout in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar has triggered a 17-hour firefight in which a police officer and at least six suspected militants were killed.

The Pakistani Taliban, also known as the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), claimed responsibility for the attack in an e-mail sent to RFE/RL and said six of its fighters were killed during the shoot-out.

Shaukat Yousafzai, a government spokesman in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province, said on April 16 that police and commandos on April 15 surrounded a house in the Hayatabad area of Peshawar, after being tipped off about planned attacks.

Yousafzai says the suspects opened fire on security forces when asked to surrender. The suspects also threw grenades, which killed an officer, police said.

During the stand-off, local residents were evacuated with the help of security personnel and rescuers.

Peshawar is the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which borders Afghanistan.

With reporting by AP and Dawn
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