7 dead, several injured in attack on police headquarters in Karachi

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA/AFP) – At least seven people, including three suspected militants, were killed and several others injured after heavily-armed terrorists stormed the police headquarters in the port city of Karachi on Friday evening, officials and local media reported.

A group of at three assailants who stormed the compound at 7:10 pm (0310 GMT), were killed in a four and a half hours-long operation, said Murtaza Wahab, a spokesman of the government of southern Sindh province, of which Karachi is the capital.

A suspected militant blew himself up to avoid arrest when security forces besieged him, whereas another two were killed in exchange of firing, Wahab told reporters.

The deceased included two policeman a para-military troop, and a civilian employee, Dr. Tariq Mahmood, an official of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center told reporters.

At least 15 people, including six personnel of the para-military force Rangers and five policemen, were injured in the operation that involved heavy firing and hand grenade explosions.

“The operation at Karachi police headquarters has been completed. All the three terrorists have been killed,” Muqaddas Haider, a deputy city police chief told reporters.

One terrorist blew himself up at the fourth floor of the main building, while another two were killed on the rooftop, Haider said.

One of the terrorists was hit by a sniper from a nearby building, he added.

Security forces raised slogans of “Allah o Akbar” or Allah is great, heralding the culmination of the operation.

Police, paramilitary troops, and army commandos rushed to the police headquarters to launch an operation to neutralize the suspected militants who took positions in different portions of the five-story compound located along the city’s busiest Sharae Faisal.

Citing various police officials, local broadcaster Geo News reported that the assailants reached the compound by a car, and used the rear entrance of the building.

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah told Geo News that the terrorists hurled hand grenades before entering the compound, and took positions on different floors.

Several massive explosions coupled with frequent firing rattled the entire neighborhood, with one huge blast causing a portion of the main building to collapse.

The brazen attack follows a suicide bombing at a mosque inside a police compound in northwestern Peshawar city, killing over 100 people on Jan 30. Later, the police downgraded the death toll to 84.

Pakistan has seen a surge in terrorist attacks since the Taliban’s storming back to the power in August 2021.

Islamabad has long been accusing Afghanistan-based TTP militants of launching attacks in the country, and urging the Taliban to not let the militant network use the Afghan soil as a launch pad.

Kabul, however, rejects the charge.

Security forces went floor-to-floor through the office building in pursuit of the assailants.

The Pakistan Taliban said its fighters stormed the tightly guarded Karachi Police Office compound, home to dozens of administrative and residential buildings as well as hundreds of officers and their families.

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan

A spokesman for Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) 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 attackers “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.”

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.