Same terrorist group behind attacks on police officials in Karachi

Traffic warden gunned down, another injured by assailants on Monday

KARACHI: Investigators probing the recent attack on traffic police at Abul Hassan Isphani Road believe that the same group of militants was behind the attack on police officials in Korangi neighbourhood few days ago.

A traffic police warden lost his life while another was critically wounded when assailants opened fire at them while they were on duty near Paradise Bakery on Abul Hassan Isphani Road within the limits of Sacchal police station, late Monday evening. The armed men managed to flee and took the victim's official gun, MP-5 rifle, with them.

The deceased warden, Muhammad Khan, was shot once in his head and died on the spot while the injured, Kamran, was shot twice in head and chest. He is under treatment at Aga Khan University Hospital. Investigators believe that at least four armed men on two motorcycles were behind the attack.



According to the investigators, the same suspects were intercepted by the police in Gulshan-e-Iqbal after the attack but the armed motorcyclists again managed to escape under the cover of fire, injuring a police constable.

The police recovered empty shells of the pistols from the sites of both the incidents and sent them to the forensic division of the Sindh police for ballistics cross-matching. The experts confirmed that the weapon used in attack on traffic cops was the same used during the attack on the police in Korangi on July 21. Three policemen and a child were killed in Korangi attack, when the armed gunmen riding on three motorcycles opened fire at the police mobile van.

Karachi has witnessed three major consecutive attacks on the police in 2017.  Before the July 21 attack on the policemen, four cops were shot dead in an act of targeted killing in SITE area on June 23 when they were busy in having iftar. A pamphlet bearing a message from a militant group, Ansaral Sharia Pakistan was found from the crime scene. Similarly, a splinter group of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Jamaatul Ahrar, claimed responsibility for the deadly attack on the police mobile at Dhoraji neighborhood in May, in which two policemen were killed and another was critically injured.



"The same group was behind the Korangi and Abul Hassan Isphani Road attacks," Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) SSP Omar Shahid Hamid said. "Similarly, a same group was behind attacks on the police in SITE and Dhoraji localities," he added.

The SSP said that nothing could be said whether a single group is operating or two or more than two groups are operating in the city. "However, it is confirmed that the police is their primary target as it is a soft target," the SSP added.

Both the traffic policemen who were killed and injured in the incident were posted at Gulzar-e-Hijri Traffic Section. An FIR No 106/17 has been registered under Sections 302, 324 and 7 of the anti-terrorism act at the CTD on behalf of ASI Pir Buksh of the Gulzar-e-Hijri Traffic Section.

In the FIR, it has been stated that a total three traffic policemen were on duty when the incident took place. The third cop escaped to a nearby hotel to save his life and the attackers took the weapon of the injured cop with them, while the wounded cop wore a bulletproof jacket. The body of the deceased cop was sent to his hometown Pano Aqil, Sukkur for burial.