Terror attack in Karachi: Five heavily-armed militants of the Tehreek-e-Taliban (Pakistan) were killed after they barged into a police compound on Friday in Karachi. Security forces managed to take back control of the head office building of the Karachi Police Chief which came under a daring attack by the militants in the country’s most populous city.
The gun battle continued for hours as security forces went floor-to-floor through an office building in pursuit of the assailants.
Four killed in gun battle
The operation that lasted for nearly four-hours, ended around 10.50 pm with four other people including two police constables, a rangers personnel and a civilian dead in the heavy exchange of firing between the TTP militants and security forces.
A senior security source said five terrorists were killed during the operation.
A Pakistani journalist shared a video of the attack. It shows visuals from the terror attack. The video has gone viral. Check it out here:
The attack comes just weeks after a bomb blast at a mosque situated inside a police complex in Peshawar killed over 80 police officers. Officials said that security would be stepped up in the capital Islamabad.
The Pakistan Taliban said its fighters barged into the tightly guarded Karachi Police Office compound, home to dozens of administrative and residential buildings. Hundreds of officers and their families reside in the compound.
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.
Armed with grenades
Speaking on Samaa TV, Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah called the attackers “terrorists… armed with grenades and other weapons” and said they fired at a gate with a rocket.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif vowed 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’
“There’s a general threat across the country but there was no specific threat to this place,” Interior Minister Sanaullah said.
Earlier, Syed Murad Ali Shah, chief minister of Sindh province, said that security forces had focused on one main building seized by the attackers. “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.”
Low-level terrorism, often targeting security checkpoints in the north and west, has been steadily rising since the Taliban seized control in neighbouring Afghanistan in August 2021.
January blast at mosque
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.
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