Rangers kill five ‘gangsters, militants’

CTD arrests 10 suspected militants during a raid in Baldia Town

KARACHI: Five more suspected gangsters and militants were killed during an alleged encounter with the paramilitary force, while 10 more alleged terrorists were arrested by the Counter-Terrorism Department.

The two gangsters were killed when the Rangers conducted an intelligence-based raid at their hideout in Gul Muhammad Lane, Lyari. The Rangers spokesperson said that the gangsters resorted to intense firing on seeing the law enforcers, adding that the Rangers troops also fired back and killed two gangsters.

Their bodies were shifted to Civil Hospital, Karachi, for autopsies, where they were identified as Adil alias Rind alias Salman and Moeed. The Rangers spokesperson said that the accused belonged to the Rauf Nazim group of Baba Ladla. They were allegedly involved in multiple targeted killings of citizens and policemen, the spokesperson said, adding that the suspects were involved in firing incidents on Rangers personnel, grenade attacks, kidnappings and extortion. Weapons and ammunitions were also found in their possession, he claimed.

On the other hand, the Rangers also killed three suspected militants during a shoot-out in the outskirts of the metropolis late on Tuesday night. The encounter took place when the Rangers conducted a raid on a tip-off about the presence of suspected militants at their hideout near Northern Bypass.

The Rangers spokesperson said that three of the alleged militants were killed, while few of their companions managed to flee by taking advantage of the darkness. Their bodies were later shifted to Edhi morgue in Sohrab Goth, after medico-legal formalities were completed at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital. The suspects were identified as Shamsher Khan, Ataullah alias Dadu Pathan and Zaheer alias Feroz Pathan.

The alleged militants belonged to a banned militant outfit, the Rangers spokesperson said. They were allegedly involved in various cases of crime and terrorism, including targeted killings, gang rapes, kidnappings, bomb attacks on Rangers and robberies.

Meanwhile, the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) arrested 10 suspected militants during a raid conducted on a tip-off at Muhammad Khan Colony in Baldia Town. CTD incharge Ali Raza said that the CTD personnel seized a huge cache of arms, ammunitions, explosives and an explosive-laden rickshaw from their possession. He added that the suspects were planning to carry out a major terror activity in the city. Cases against them have been registered.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 21^st, 2016.