SHEIKHUPURA - The Counter-Terrorism Department personnel gunned down eight terrorists on Sharqpur Road near village Hoayki in wee hours of yesterday while four others managed to escape.

Reportedly, on receiving information that a dozen of suspected persons were staying in Hoayki village, the CTD officials raided their hideout. As the suspected terrorists were besieged, they opened fire. In retaliation, the CTD raiding party killed eight terrorist while four others succeeded in escaping from the site. Sophisticated weapons, explosive material and the maps of sensitive places were also recovered from the scene, the CTD officials said. The identification of the outlaws could not so far be ascertained. However, the bodies of the eight suspects were taken to the city morgue for autopsy.

Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) foiled a major terror bid when eight terrorists of a banned organization were killed in an encounter on Sharqpur Road near Sheikhupura on early Thursday morning, a private TV channel reported.

The channel said the officials of Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) and Anti-Terrorism Department conducted a joint operation on Sharaqpur Road on a tip-off. As the terrorists opened fire at the security officials, they retaliated and gunned down eight terrorists. Reportedly, six accomplices of the miscreants managed to flee. The law-enforcement agencies cordoned off the area and launched a search operation. When contacted, Sheikhupura District Police Officer Sarfraz Ahmed Khan Virk said the militants, hailing from Waziristan, were planning for a major terrorist attack.