Paksitani policemen killed in shootout with suspected militants

Two policemen have been killed in a fierce exchange of fire between security forces and two suspected militants in the troubled southwestern Pakistan. 

The violent clashes erupted on Sunday after security personnel intercepted two gunmen in Kerani neighborhood on the outskirts of the restive southwestern city of Quetta, the capital of the militancy-riddled Balochistan Province.

Two policemen, one militant and a woman bystander were killed in the fierce fighting which ensued.

Abdur Razzaq Cheema, the Quetta police chief, said the other militant managed to flee the scene on a motorcycle.

Sources say the slain militant was wanted by the law enforcement agencies over his involvement in the killing of Shia Muslim activists from Hazara community.

Quetta, the largest city of Balochistan, has seen several gun and bomb attacks over the past couple of years. A large number of Shia Muslims have been killed in militant attacks there.

Two militant attacks against Shia Hazara community in Quetta killed more than 200 people in early 2013.

Pro-Taliban militants and some Baloch insurgent groups have carried out numerous attacks against security forces as well as civilians despite frequent offensives by the Pakistani army.

Some Baloch militant groups say they want greater political autonomy and a share of the province's natural resources.

Thousands of Pakistanis have lost their lives in bombings and other militant attacks since 2001, when Pakistan entered an alliance with the US in the so-called war on terror. Thousands more have been displaced by the wave of violence and militancy sweeping across the country.

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