Peshawar/Islamabad: A 10-hour long hostage crisis in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar ended on Saturday when at least three militants surrendered to authorities after setting free two military personnel they had captured, officials said.
The militants, who were detained in a military building, overpowered their guards this morning and captured the two sentries. They also shot and injured one of the guards, said Peshawar police chief Liaquat Ali Khan. "The militants have surrendered with the weapons and the two sentries taken hostage by them have been freed," said Khan.
He said three to four militants were involved in the incident. There were no reports of loss of life during the incident, which created tension in Peshawar. "These are hardened militants and they are difficult to deal with," Khan said.
Chief military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas too said the situation had been brought under control following a bloodless operation.
Other officials said the militants surrendered when they realised that security forces had blocked all escape routes. The militants were being held at the interrogation cell of an intelligence agency in the building located within the high-security cantonment in Peshawar.
The building is located a short distance from the US consulate and an office of the Intelligence Bureau. Earlier reports had suggested that a group of militants had entered the high-security area and engaged security forces in a gun battle. However, Abbas clarified that no terror attack had occurred and that no militants had entered the area.
"No terrorists came to the area from outside," he told reporters. Local residents said they heard gunshots in the area near the US consulate at 6 am. Large contingents of soldiers and policemen quickly moved into the area and sealed it off.
Key roads were blocked and traffic was diverted to other routes. Helicopters were used to conduct surveillance of the area. Peshawar's military airbase and the city's international airport too are located a few kilometres from the building where the incident occurred.
Witnesses said the militants and security personnel exchanged fire several times but there were no casualties.
Security forces conducted a search operation in the area to check if any persons were helping the militants, sources said. On April 5, militants armed with automatic weapons and suicide car bombs tried to storm the consulate, killing three persons.
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