Pakistan police kill leader of anti-Shia militant group

ISLAMABAD, July 29: Malik Ishaq, the dreaded chief of banned Sunni sectarian outfit Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, was gunned down along with his two sons and 11 others early on Wednesday morning by police in an alleged exchange of fire in Punjab’s Muzaffargarh district. While the exact circumstances of the killing remain unclear, police said the encounter took place following an attack on its convoy taking Ishaq and his sons to a detention centre. They were being taken to Shahwala in Muzaffargarh by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) to aid in the recovery of arms and explosives that it had seized allegedly from LeJ terrorists. “As the police convoy was returning in wee hours on Wednesday, a group of militants on motorbikes ambushed it near Shahwala Jungle in an attempt to free Ishaq,” Shuja Khanzada, Punjab’s home minister, said. “Fourteen militants, including the LeJ chief and his sons, were killed in the battle, which ensued,” he said and added that at least six police officers were also injured.  (IANS)