At least seven people were killed, including 3 militants , when Pakistan Taliban fighters stormed a police compound Friday in the port city of Karachi, a provincial official told AFP.
“Four people were killed in the attack, including two policemen, one ranger, and one sanitary worker,” Sindh government spokesman Murtaza Wahab Siddiqui told AFP, adding: “The operation has concluded with the killing of all 3 militants .” A spokesman for Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility in a WhatsApp message to AFP.
“Our Mujahideen martyrs have attacked Karachi Police Office. More details to follow,” he said. Speaking on Samaa TV, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah called the militants “terrorists… armed with grenades and other weapons” and said they fired at a gate with a rocket. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed Friday to stamp out the violence.
“Pakistan will not only uproot terrorism, but will kill the terrorists by bringing them to justice,” he tweeted. “This great nation is determined to end this evil forever.”
General threat
Earlier, Syed Murad Ali Shah, chief minister of Sindh province, told ARY news that security forces had focused on one main building seized by the attackers.
Also Read:what USA said on BBC Tax Controversy in India, Freedom of Press?
“It is a five-floor building. Our police and rangers have cleared the first three floors and approaching the fourth. The terrorists are still inside the building.” An AFP reporter near the scene saw dozens of ambulances and security vehicles arrive outside the compound.
Karachi is Pakistan’s largest city, a sprawling metropolis of over 20 million people and the main trade gateway at its Arabian Sea port. Low-level militancy, often targeting security checkpoints in the north and west, has been steadily rising since the Taliban seized control in neighbouring Afghanistan in August 2021.
The assaults are claimed mostly by the Pakistan Taliban, as well as the local chapter of the Islamic State, but separatists from Balochistan have struck over the years in Karachi, capital of the southern Sindh province. Investigators blamed an affiliate of the Pakistan Taliban for the January blast at a mosque inside a police compound in Peshawar that killed more than 80 officers. Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan share a common lineage and ideals with the Afghan Taliban.
Provinces around the country announced they were on high alert after the mosque attack, with checkpoints ramped up and extra security forces deployed. “There’s a general threat across the country but there was no specific threat to this place,” Interior Minister Sanaullah said of Friday’s Karachi attack.
To read and know more news, now you can also follow us on social media – To follow on Twitter, type – @khas_khabar and to read news #khas_khabar live follow on Facebook. You can follow us on our page@socialkhabarlive.