GUJRAT: Two alleged militants were killed and as many policemen sustained injuries in an encounter as a group of militants attacked a police picket in Gotriala in Kharian tehsil late on Wednesday night.

District Police Officer Rai Zameerul Haq told Dawn by telephone that three policemen were present at the Gotriala police picket when they came under armed attack of militants.

Consequently, constables Usman and Moazzam sustained bullet wounds while their third colleague managed to escape and alerted hiscolleagues.

The DPO said that a sub-inspector returned the fire after which the shootout continued for over an hour and police later found two bodies in nearby fields. One of the dead militants was identified as Mumtaz alias Goga of Thim village, Sara-i-Alamgir, who was wanted in the killing of around half-a-dozen Shias and two policemen in the Gujrat district. While the other dead militant seemed to be a resident of some tribal area.

Mr Haq said that four to five terrorists managed to escape, but police had cordoned off all entry and exit points of Kharian and Gujrat.

He said police recovered two Kalashnikovs, three hand-gre-nades, two rocket launchers and hundreds of cartridges from the spot. He said the search operation would continue till morning.

The DPO said the police would send samples of the body of unidentified militant for the DNA test to ascertain his identity.

Police sources said the deceased militant belonged to a banned outfit which had been operative in different parts of Punjab.

They said their alleged leader Afzal Fauji and his accomplice from Toba Tek Singh had already been killed in an encounter with Gujrat police in January this year when their accomplices tried to get them freed from the police custody.