Investigators suspect militant sleeper cells active in Karachi again

Policemen martyred in Korangi on Friday laid to rest

KARACHI: The murder of three policemen in Karachi on Friday was the third consecutive attack on law enforcers in 2017, but, unfortunately, investigators probing these attacks have yet to nab the group or groups behind the incidents. They believe that 'sleeper cells' of different militant outfits have been activated in Karachi, particularly to target policemen.

The policemen and a minor boy who lost their lives in the deadly attack in Korangi were laid to rest amid tears and outpourings of grief on Saturday.

The policemen and child lost their lives, while another minor passerby was critically wounded when six armed men riding on at least three motorcycles opened fire on their police mobile near Darul Uloom in Korangi, within the limits of Awami Colony police station.



The funeral prayers of ASI Qamaruddin and constables Babar Shah and Afzal, who was earlier identified as Amjad, were offered at Police Headquarters, Garden and were attended by a large number of senior officials including Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, Information Minister Nasir Hussain Shah, Rangers Director-General Major General Muhammad Saeed, Sindh IG Allah Dino Khawaja, Karachi Additional IG Ghulam Qadir Thebu and various zonal DIGs and district SSPs.

"The terrorists involved in this act of terrorism will be arrested soon," vowed IG Khawaja. "These acts of terrorism cannot lower the morale of the police," he said, adding that the police would continue its operations against crimes and criminals and will continue to sacrifice their lives in order to protect the lives and property of the people.

The IG announced Rs5 million for each martyred policeman, besides a job in the police department for their heirs.

Third attack

This is not the first time the police have been targeted this year - two similar incidents have occurred in the city in 2017. On June 23, four policemen were shot dead in an act of targeted killing in SITE area when they were opening their fasts. A pamphlet bearing a message from militant group Ansaral Sharia, Pakistan was found at the crime scene. Jamaatul Ahrar, a splinter group of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), had claimed responsibility for the deadly attack on the police mobile in Dhoraji neighbourhood in May, in which two policemen were killed and another was critically wounded.



But this time, the investigators have not found any pamphlet at the crime scene. On Saturday, however, Ali Bin Sufiyan, spokesperson for Lashkar-e-Jhangvi alAlmi claimed responsibility for the attack through social media.

Investigators believe that the series of attacks on policemen in Karachi is a result of a nexus of different militant groups, as it is believed that militant 'sleeper cells' have been activated in the city.

"We believe that the sleeper cells of the different militants outfits like Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi alAlmi, Jamaatul Ahrar and Ansarul Shariah Pakistan have been activated in Karachi and their main goal to target the police," explained a senior counter-terrorism officer. "Each group comprises between four to six members with different [fake] identities."

Raja Umar Khattab of the Counter-Terrorism Department said that there is no doubt that militant outfits are behind the series of attacks on the police and that the Ansarul Shariah Pakistan are most likely involved. This militant organisation is new in Pakistan but the militants are old hands at terrorism, he said. "These militants had earlier been associated with different militant outfits, including alQaeda and Da’ish," he explained. "They are experts. Shooting at least 45 times does not mean that they are amateurs; they are professionals who aimed to expose their full power. The second thing is that the police are a very soft target but have a hard impact," he said.



The investigators have also obtained the initial ballistics cross matching of the bullets, which suggest that the weapons used in the recent attack had not been previously used in a criminal activity. The investigators are puzzled over the multiple shots fired at the victims. "Usually one cop is shot by militants in such attacks twice, thrice or even four times but this was a strange incident, as they shot one constable 18 times and the remaining two 12 times each,” said another senior police official. “The question is, why did they shoot them so many times, when they were killed after the first two to three bullets were fired?” he questioned. "They must have been trying to convey a message, but we have yet to decipher it,” he said.

Meanwhile, FIR No 105/17 has been registered at the Counter-Terrorism Department on behalf of the state. In the initial report prepared by police investigators, the policemen, in their police van, arrived at the scene to check a truck that was involved in an accident when the terrorists attacked them. The DSP and SHO of the Awami Colony police station were suspended by the Karachi AIG in relation to the incident.