Karachi - Seven bullet-ridden bodies of suspected militants were found dumped among bushes in Pakistan's port city of Karachi on Monday, officials said.
The deceased appeared to have been brought to the spot in the western Manghopir neighbourhood of the metropolis before being executed, senior police officer Sajid Noor told AFP.
“We found blood and empty shells of the bullets around the bodies implying they were killed at the spot this morning,” he said.
He added that police were investigating whether they belonged to the Pakistani Taliban or another group.
“Some of them have been identified and from their appearance they looked like Taliban but we don't have any record of their affiliation to the banned group,” Noor said.
A second police official, Nasir Abbas, confirmed that seven bodies had been found - five who appeared to be in their twenties and two who appeared to be in their late thirties, along with rounds of a 9mm pistol.
The Pakistani Taliban have not yet commented.
Manghopir is a particularly turbulent part of Karachi known to be infested with militant groups including Taliban and sectarian fighters, while bodies have been dumped at the site before.
Last week a major faction of the Pakistani Taliban broke away from the outfit following months of bloody clashes between rival groups.
Observers said the split was a victory for the Pakistani military's strategy of pitting militant factions against each other, while gaining the loyalty of key commanders.
Karachi, a city of 18 million people which contributes 42 percent of Pakistan's GDP, has been plagued for years by sectarian, ethnic and political violence. - AFP