Two Da’ish militants killed in Karachi

Six TTP fighters died in CTD operation in Lahore

KARACHI/LAHORE: Two self-radicalised fighters of the Islamic State (IS), the Middle Eastern terrorist group also known by its Arabic acronym of Da’ish, were killed in a gunfight on Wednesday – the day when six suspected Taliban militants were killed in Lahore.

Speaking at a news conference at his office, SSP Junaid Shaikh said the two militants, Mujahidullah and Abdullah, were killed in a shootout with a CTD team, which raided their hideout in Gulshan-e-Maymar, on the outskirts of Karachi. The raid also yielded a huge cache of arms and ammunition.





The Da’ish operatives were said to be planning major terror attacks in Karachi. “They were planning attacks on consulates of different countries in Karachi. They also planned targeting shopping malls and sensitive installations,” SSP Shaikh told The Express Tribune.

He said Mujahidullah was a key player for Da’ish in Karachi and carried a head money of Rs1 million. He was earlier associated with the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi sectarian militant group and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) but he swore allegiance to IS while serving as ‘cook’ of Da’ish leader Jahanzeb in Buner district of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

Mujahidullah was also involved in murders of army soldiers in Waziristan. He was tasked by the Da’ish leadership with finding recruits for the group in Karachi. SSP Shaikh said the militant managed to recruit nearly two dozen men mostly belonging to other banned outfits.



Last year, the law enforcers busted a self-radicalised gang inspired by Da’ish after it carried out the brazen Safoora Goth bus massacre, killing 45 members of the Ismaili community.

In Lahore, meanwhile, six militants allegedly associated with the TTP were killed during a search operation. The CTD claimed recovering the bodies of six members of TTP’s Ustad Aslam faction.

The police said the men died of bullets fired by their own accomplices during an encounter with the law enforcers Wednesday morning.

Police seized five kilograms of explosives, four detonators, two Kalashnikovs, three motorcycles, four pistols and 97 bullets from the hideout.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 7^th,  2016.