Police in Pakistan say they have killed six "terrorists" behind a bomb attack in the eastern city of Lahore last year.

Police spokesman Salim Khan says counterterrorism police ambushed the suspected militants early Sunday as they were traveling on motorcycles near the city of Gujrat, setting off a shootout in which three of the men escaped.

He says they were members of the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar group and were behind a bombing in Lahore last year that killed 26 people, including nine police. He says police seized weapons and explosive vests from the scene of the raid.

Islamic extremists in Pakistan have carried out scores of attacks in recent years, mainly targeting security forces and religious minorities.