QUETTA: Four suspected militants were killed in a shootout with security forces in the Kahan area of Kohlu district on Friday.

The Frontier Corps (FC) action in Kohlu was part of a combing operation in Quetta and other areas of the province launched on the directives of Chief of Army Staff Gen Raheel Sharif.

According to official sources, FC personnel along with officials from intelligence agencies launched search operations in Kahan on a tip-off. Armed militants openedñreon theFCtroops who returned fire.

Af ter a heavy exchange of fire for several hours, four militants were shot dead.

`Four militants of a banned militant organisation were killed in the gunbattle, said an FC spokesman, adding that they were active members of the banned Baloch Republican Army. He said the men were involved in attacking security forces and gas installations, bomb attacks and targeted killings.