Pakistani forces kill top militant leader: official

Anti-terrorism forces in Pakistan's Punjab province had killed the chief of a banned militant group and three others, officials said Wednesday.

Rizwan alias Asif Chotu, chief of the banned sectarian "Lashkar-e-Jhangvi" (LeJ) and three members of the group, who were blamed for series of attacks on the security forces and Shiite Muslims, were killed in a clash with the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) near Sheikhupura, a main town near Lahore, the capital of Punjab, a spokesman for the CTD said.

LeJ was involved in the recent attacks on a crowded shrine and Shiite Muslims in Balochistan province that killed dozens of people. Security officials believed that the group was now coordinating with Daesh (the Islamic State) to carry out attacks.

The CTD spokesman said in a statement that Chotu was wanted in over 100 murder cases and that the government had announced a head money of 3 million rupees.

He said the terrorists were planning an attack on staff and offices of a security agency in Lahore. "They were heading to Lahore for the terrorist attack from Sheikhupura when the CTD force encountered them."

"On a tip-off, the CTD team blockaded the Railway crossing late on Tuesday. The team asked the terrorists to surrender but they fled and later took positions and started firing indiscriminately on the police party chasing them. The police responded and found four terrorists dead while three terrorists succeeded in fleeing from the scene," the official said.

The CTD members also recovered two Kalashnikovs, two pistols, three kg explosives, prima cord and live bullets.

Chotu was appointed the LeJ chief, after his predecessor Malik Ishaq was killed in Punjab in July 2015, along with two sons and nine other militants after they tried to flee from the police custody. He was released after seven years of imprisonment in 2012. He later went underground and organized many attacks on the law enforcement agencies and Shiite Muslims. Endit