Suspected Militants Killed In Gunbattle With Pakistani Police

A health worker administers a polio vaccine to a child during a three-day nationwide vaccination campaign to eradicate polio in a heavily Afghan area of Islamabad, Pakistan, on January 21.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan -- Local officials say four suspected militants have been killed in a gunbattle with police forces in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.

Police official Haji Muhammad told RFE/RL that the hourlong shoot-out took place in the Swabi district on February 1.

Police came under attack, he said, while conducting a search operation for suspected militants in the area.

He said police seized "three pistols, 30 explosives, and other weapons from the attackers."

Militants have launched a string of deadly attacks on police, and polio-immunization teams in Swabi in recent months.

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The Pakistani Taliban have claimed responsibility for those attacks.

The latest incident comes three days after Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif formed a four-member committee for peace talks with the Taliban.