ISLAMABAD, Jan. 8 (Xinhua) -- At least seven militants were killed in a search operation conducted by police in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi on Thursday, officials said.

Senior Superintendent Police Rao Anwar said that some 500 policemen participated in the search operation on an intelligence tip-off of the presence of suspected militants in Sohrab Goth area of Karachi, the capital city of Sindh province.

During the search operation all of the militants were killed, the police said.

Anwar said that the police also arrested two militants and recovered arms and explosives from the terrorists who were plotting a sabotage activity in the city.

The killed insurgents included a commander of the banned out- fit Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, he said.