People gather near a militant hideout during an operation against insurgents in Peshawar, northwest Pakistan, April 16, 2019. At least six people including a policeman and five militants were killed when police and army forces launched a joint operation against insurgents in the capital city Peshawar of Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a military statement said Tuesday. (Xinhua/Umar Qayyum)
ISLAMABAD, April 16 (Xinhua) -- At least six people including a policeman and five militants were killed when police and army forces launched a joint operation against insurgents in the capital city Peshawar of Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, a military statement said Tuesday.
An officer and a soldier also got injured in the clash between security forces and the militants, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), Pakistani army's media wing said in the statement.
The operation that lasted for about 17 hours, started on Monday night after security forces acted on an intelligence tip-off regarding presence of the militants in Hayatabad area of the city.
The militants sprayed bullets at the police when they tried to enter the compound, triggering out an exchange of fire in which a policeman and a militant were killed.
More contingents of police and army joined the police party battling the militants on Tuesday and cleared the three-storey hideout after successfully concluding the operation on Tuesday afternoon.
Police said that the operation took a long time as the militants' compound was in a densely populated area and they did not want to put lives of security forces and local residents in danger by some extensive operation in the area, according to local media.
Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Qazi Jamil said that militants used sophisticated weapons to confront the police and army personnel.
Senior police and army officials from the city also visited the operation site to check the attack strategy of the personnel taking part in the joint operation.
The identities or affiliations of the terrorists were not revealed, but some local media reports said that the militants were associated with some proscribed organization and were planning to attack a senior official in Peshawar. They were also involved in attacking a senior judge in the same area in 2017.
