Pakistan: Militants blow themselves up to avoid capture

Two Islamic militants blew themselves up with bombs after an intense gun battle with police in the Pakistani city of Quetta today.

The two men died but nobody else was hurt in the blasts.

The battle erupted when dozens of police raided a house after receiving a tip that “suspects were hiding there”.

It took place near the route of a procession by minority Shiite Muslims due to take place on Sunday.

Police suspect the dead men had links with Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, a Sunni militant group which has been accused of killing thousands of rival Shiites.

Most of Pakistan’s Sunni and Shiite Muslims live peacefully together, but small radical groups on both sides are responsible for frequent attacks.

About 97% of Pakistan’s 150 million population is Muslim, and Sunnis outnumber Shiites by a ratio of about four-to-one.