Two Pakistani terrorists involved in Anarkali blast killed in shootout

Two Pakistani terrorists, involved in a deadly blast that ripped through a crowded market in Lahore's popular Anarkali Bazar, were killed in a shootout on Saturday, the police said.

The Baloch Nationalist Army (BNA), one of several ethnic insurgent groups active in the mineral-rich southwestern Balochistan province, had claimed responsibility for the blast that killed three people and injured 28 others on January 20.

On Saturday, the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of the Punjab Police said: ''Arrested terrorists Abdul Razziq and Sanaullah Sattar who were involved in Anarkali Blast were killed in a shootout with terrorists' companions.'' It said that during a course of interrogation, both terrorists, who were arrested in May, disclosed that they had a house in Badami Bhag in Lahore where they had hidden leftover/remaining explosives after the Anarkali blast.

''On Saturday morning when investigators and CTD teams along with both the terrorists were proceeding towards the said place for the recovery of explosives, they were attacked by their four unknown accomplices. In a cross fire, both terrorists were killed on the spot and their companions/terrorists escaped,'' the CTD said.

One loaded rifle with ammunition was recovered, it said.

The CTD in May had arrested both the terrorists who arrived here from Balochistan to carry out further terrorist attacks on law enforcement agencies in Lahore and a train at the Lahore railway station.

They had confessed their involvement in the Anarkali blast, the CTD said.

Balochistan, bordering Iran and Afghanistan, is home to a long-running violent insurgency.

Baloch insurgent groups have previously carried out several attacks targeting the multi-billion dollars China-Pakistan Economic Corridor projects in the region.