Pakistan army kills militant wanted for slaying 100 Shias

Pakistani troops acting on intelligence raided a militant hideout near the southwestern city of Quetta, triggering a shootout in which an intelligence officer and a notorious militant wanted for over 100 deaths of minority Shias were killed along with two other suspects, officials said Thursday.

In a statement, the military said Wednesday’s raid was carried out in Killi Almas village in the troubled Baluchistan province.

It said three militants were killed in the shootout and they included Salman Badeni, a provincial commander of the sectarian Lashkar-e-Jhangvi group. Suhail Abid, a senior officer from military intelligence was also “martyred” during the intense firefight, the military said.

The raid came weeks after Shias sought protection from the army, saying they had lost thousands of people in militant attacks in recent years. Sunni extremists view Shias as apostates and they have carried out scores of attacks in Quetta and elsewhere targeting Hazara Shia Muslims.

Also on Thursday, a suicide bomber on a motorcycle struck a security convoy in the northwestern town of Nowshera in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, wounding at least 14 troops and passers-by, according to local police chief Mushtaq Khan.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Police said officers were transporting the wounded to hospitals.