GLOBAL ECONOMY

Pakistan police raid Taliban-linked militant hideout, kill 6

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Pakistani family members mourn the death of a bombing victim, outside a hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017. Two suicide bombings in northwestern Pakistan killed at least 6 people on Wednesday following an almost three-month-long lull in the volatile region. A breakaway Taliban faction claimed responsibility for one of the attacks. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad) (The Associated Press)

Pakistani police officers light candles to pay tribute to their colleagues who lost their lives in a deadly suicide attack, in Lahore, Pakistan, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017. Two suicide bombings in northwestern Pakistan killed at least 6 people on Wednesday following an almost three-month-long lull in the volatile region. A breakaway Taliban faction claimed responsibility for one of the attacks. A Lahore bombing on Monday targeted policemen who were escorting a protest march. That attack killed over a dozen people, including seven policemen. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudhry) (The Associated Press)

Pakistan army soldiers cordon off the area of a bombing in Peshawar, Pakistan, Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017. Two suicide bombings in northwestern Pakistan killed at least 6 people on Wednesday following an almost three-month-long lull in the volatile region. A breakaway Taliban faction claimed responsibility for one of the attacks. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad) (The Associated Press)

A Pakistani counter-terrorism official says security forces have raided a hideout of Taliban- linked suspected Islamic militants, killing 6 of them.

Mohammad Saleem says the raid took place on Thursday in the central district of Khanewal and was based on intelligence that the militants were planning an attack.

The raid comes on heels of a series of suicide bombings this week by a Pakistani Taliban's breakaway faction, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, or Freedom Movement, following an almost three-month lull.

The group has carried out three suicide bombings this week, killing 19 people. Also, two of its bombers were killed before they could set off their explosives and another blew himself up prematurely before reaching his target.

Pakistan has for over a decade fought Islamic militants, who have killed thousands of people.