ISLAMABAD, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- At least five militants were killed in a shootout with security forces in Pakistan's northwest Chitral district on Wednesday, local Urdu media reported.
Dunya News said the exchange of firing was triggered off when militants opened fire at security forces in Kalash area of Chitral, a district located near Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
The forces gave a befitting response and killed the five militants, while their accomplices fled the scene, leaving the bodies behind.
The troops took custody of the bodies and shifted them to a nearby hospital for investigation.
The forces cordoned off the area and kicked off a search operation to hunt down the on-the-run insurgents.
The identities of the killed militants have not been revealed yet.
The incident happened after Afghan Taliban launched two attacks in Chitral, the district in the country's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, and stole hundreds of cattle.
In one of the attacks on Sunday, the Afghan Taliban killed two shepherds and took away their herd of over 400 cattle to Afghanistan with them.
