Militants Killed In Shoot-out With Pakistani Police

Pakistani officials say four Islamic militants allegedly involved in a 2009 attack were killed in a shoot-out with police.

The shoot-out erupted late on August 27 near Lahore when gunmen tried to break the militants out of police custody, a counterterrorism official told Radio Mashaal.

Law-enforcement officers returned fire and when the shoot-out stopped the “four accused terrorists were found dead,” the official said on condition of anonymity.

The March 2009 attack on a visiting Sri Lankan cricket team killed six police officers and two bystanders.

The Pakistani Taliban and Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, an affiliated extremist group, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Pakistan has stepped up its fight against extremist groups over the past two years, including with a military offensive in the tribal region of North Waziristan.

With reporting by AP