Pakistan's security forces say they have killed eight militants in a raid in the southern port city of Karachi.
The Pakistan Rangers paramilitary force said in an October 22 statement that the militants died overnight in a joint raid with counterterrorism officers that triggered a heavy exchange of fire.
It said five "terrorists" were killed on the spot, while three others were wounded and later died on the way to a hospital.
The statement said that the head of a newly formed, Al-Qaeda-inspired group called Ansarul Sharia Pakistan was among those killed.
The militant group has claimed responsibility for an attack on opposition lawmaker Khawaja Izharul Hasan from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) last month.
Hassan escaped unharmed in the September 2 attack, but a police officer and teenage bystander were killed.
The Pakistan Rangers said a counterterrorism officer and two paramilitary troops were also wounded in the raid in Karachi, adding that weapons and explosives were seized from the militants' hideout.
Karachi, Pakistan's largest city with more than 14 million inhabitants, is considered a hiding place for the Pakistani Taliban and other militants.
