Photo：News Desk

Officials in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi confirmed Sunday that they have busted the network of militant organization Ansar-ul-Sharia and killed its chief.

In a press briefing on Sunday evening, Col. Faisal, an official of paramilitary troops Rangers, confirmed that they killed eight militants including the organization's commander Abdullah Hashmi in an overnight operation in the city.

The official said they received a tip-off regarding the presence of the militants in Baldia Town area of the city, with the additional information that the group is planning to carry out a huge terrorist attack.

He said the killed militants also included two target killers and facilitators of the group, who got training from Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan.

Faisal added that some of the "dangerous militants" including close aides of the chief and some target killers fled the scene, and search for them is going on.

He said that their three troops got injured during the operation.

The official said that the group took credit of various activities of terrorism in the city including attack on political party Muttahida Qaumi Movement's leader, and killing of four policemen.

As their activities in Karachi were reported for the first time in April this year, the group is comprised of highly-educated individuals from Karachi, who used social media as a tool to pollute minds of young educated people and brought them to terrorism.

Earlier in September, local media reports claimed that the group's chief has been arrested by the law enforcement agencies, but neither the officials nor the group's spokesperson confirmed the claim at that time.