Pakistani police kill ex-head of outlawed group, 13 others

ISLAMABAD (AP) — A Pakistan government official says police have killed the former head of an outlawed Sunni group along with 13 of his associates in a shootout.

Shuja Khanzada, the provincial home minister in the eastern Punjab province, said Malik Ishaq was killed before dawn Wednesday in the district of Muzaffargarh.

He said police arrested Ishaq about a week ago and that officers were taking him to a place for questioning when a group of armed men tried to snatch him from police. Khanzada said police commandos returned fire and that the shootout continued for two hours.

He said when the firing stopped, officers found Ishaq and 13 of his associates had been killed.

Ishaq's outlawed Lashkar-e-Jhangvi group is accused of killing hundreds of minority Shiite Muslims in Pakistan.