ISLAMABAD, July 17 (Xinhua) -- Five militants were killed in an intelligence-based operation carried out by the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) and local police in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, officials said on Thursday.
The operation was conducted in Bannu district after security forces acted on intelligence about the presence of militants, the CTD said in a statement.
The militants opened indiscriminate fire on the security personnel, triggering a gun battle in which five militants were killed, while several others managed to escape, the statement said.
Security forces recovered five assault rifles, 10 magazines, two hand grenades and a large quantity of ammunition from the slain militants.
A search operation was underway to track down the fleeing militants, while the identities of those killed were being established through profiling and forensic analysis, the CTD added. ■