CTD arrests alleged suicide bombing trainer, would-be bomber

Officials say militants belong to LeJ's Hafeez Pandrani Brohi group


Our Correspondent March 18, 2017
PHOTO: EXPRESS/FILE

KARACHI: The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) claimed on Friday to have foiled a major terrorist activity in Karachi by arresting an alleged suicide bombing trainer and a would-be suicide bomber during separate raids as well as recovering explosives, arms and ammunition.

The suspects arrested belonged to the Hafeez Pandrani Brohi group of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) - the same group accused of being involved in a series of terrorism incidents in rural Sindh since 2010. The arrested suspects were identified as Abdul Aziz Shaikh, son of Saleh Shaikh, and Aslam Gul alias Aslam, son of Saeed Gul. Their arrests were made during separate raids in Sohrab Goth and MA Jinnah Road, respectively, and were disclosed during a press conference by CTD Operations SP Munir Shaikh.

SP Shaikh said that after the Sehwan bombing, they had information that militants of the Hafeez Brohi group were planning to carry out a terrorist activity in Karachi. Sharing details about the arrested suspects, he said that Aziz received militancy training from LeJ leaders Abdul Hafeez and Khalid Ansari.

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"The accused is a LeJ chief for the Shikarpur chapter," disclosed the SP. "Aziz used to provide logistical support and facilitation to terrorists in carrying out their terrorist activities in rural Sindh."

Aziz was also involved in generating funds for militant organisations, said SP Shaikh, adding that he was also involved in the imambargah bombing in Shikarpur. The accused was also said to be a closed aide of LeJ chief Asif Choto.

The officer said that 20-year-old Gul was trained in suicide bombing by his father's friend, Siraj. "To obtain suicide bombing training, he was taken to Waziristan by Siraj and after training, he was brought to Karachi to carry out a bombing," the officer explained. "We managed to arrest him when Siraj took him to MA Jinnah Road, the suicide bombing site." Unfortunately, Siraj managed to escape during the raid.

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