Pakistan Rangers Sindh and police carried out a joint operation early on Wednesday morning in Karachi's Baldia Town and killed two suspected militants in an ‘encounter’ who had recently arrived from Afghanistan allegedly to carry out terror attacks in the metropolis.

The paramilitary force along with the police’s Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) carried out an intelligence-based action and killed "two extremely wanted terrorists linked with banned outfits in an encounter", a Rangers spokesperson said.

The slain suspects were identified as Mohammed Rafiq alias Adil and Adnan Shabir alias Qari.

The Sindh government had announced a Rs2 million reward for the arrest of Rafiq while Shabir was declared an "extremely dangerous terrorist".

“They were involved in bomb blasts, bank robberies, sectarian killings and killings of law enforcers,” the Rangers spokesperson said.

They said the Rangers' intelligence wing and the CTD had received secret information that the two militants, affiliated with Ustad Aslam-led group of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), were present in Rais Yar Mohammad Goth of Baldia Town. Acting on a tip-off, the Rangers’ Shaheen Group and CTD police personnel encircled the Goth late on Tuesday night.

As the forces moved towards their target, the suspects opened indiscriminate fire on them. The law enforcers made an announcement using a megaphone, ordering the militants to surrender themselves but they continued firing. During the exchange of fire with the security forces, both suspected militants were killed, the spokesperson said.

Two submachine guns (SMGs), two 9mm pistols, ammunition and explosive material were seized from their hideout.

“Both suspects had recently come from Afghanistan to Karachi and were planning a major terrorist act,” the Rangers official said.

According to the Rangers' statement, Mohammed Rafiq used to prepare mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in order to carry out explosions in Waziristan and was involved in other terror attacks. He was involved in a bomb attack on a police van in Shah Latif Town on March 27, 2015, in which two policemen were martyred while 15 personnel were injured.

He was also involved in fitting a bomb in a rickshaw on Hub River Road in Baldia Town that exploded on October 12, 2014, leaving four people wounded, as well as an armed attack on City Courts on June 19, 2010, during which four militants, identified as Shakeeb Mudasir, Murad Shah, Wazir Taus and Murtaza Inayat, had managed to escape from police custody. During this attack, one policeman was martyred while another was injured.

Rafiq was also involved in "several acts of sectarian killings", the Rangers spokesperson said.

The second slain militant, Adnan Shabir, was "highly trained" and was a close aide of Lashkar-i-Jhangvi’s Naeem Bukhari, Farooq Bhatti alias Taya, Sabir alias Munna, Ishaq alias Bobby, Asim alias Capri and Shahjehan Burmi, the Rangers official said. He was involved in the targeted killings of policemen Aqeel Ahmed, Mohammed Jameel, Mohammed Anwar and Mohammed Akhter during an armed attack on a restaurant in Korangi Sector 5-½ in August 2015.

He was also involved in the targeted killing of head constable Anwar Jaferi in Korangi 2-½ in 2014, as well as in the targeted killing of assistant sub-inspector (ASI) of police Mohammed Yusuf in Zia Colony of Korangi, also in 2014.

According to the Rangers spokesperson, Shabir was also involved in several targeted killings linked with sectarianism.