KARACHI, Jan 15 Security forces arrested 79 suspected militants here on Thursday after a pre-dawn raid on their hideout in which two policemen were killed. A sizeable quantity of weapons and ammunition were seized, officials said.

Seven policemen were injured in the fierce gunbattle with the militants, a city police official said, adding that security forces

might have helped thwart an attack.

Police and paramilitary troops conducted a raid in the Sohrab Goth area on a tip-off about the presence of some militants there. The police were then fired upon.

Police and paramilitary forces had recovered weapons from the militants' hideout, the official said, adding “We have certainly saved the city from a possible sabotage activity.”