'Mastermind' of Rangers camp attack in Karachi arrested: police
SCREENGRAB
Police on Tuesday said the mastermind behind the attack on a Karachi Rangers camp, identified as Qari Bashir, had been arrested, adding that the "entire planning of the attack took place in Afghanistan."
"Qari Bashir was called from Pakistan to Afghanistan and assigned this task. Rangers later arrested him, and he has confessed to all the crimes related to planning the attack," said Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) Irfan Bahadur while speaking at a joint press conference alongside Sindh Inspector General of Police Javed Alam Odho and Home Minister Zia-ul-Hassan Lanjar.
The investigation stemmed from an attack on a Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) camp in Karachi on June 27, when armed terrorists attempted to storm the facility after detonating explosives at its main gate. According to the military's media wing, Rangers personnel repelled the assault, killing three of the attackers and capturing a fourth in an injured condition.
The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said three Rangers personnel were killed and four others wounded during the exchange of fire. It identified the attackers as members of Jamaat-ul-Ahrar and said one of the captured terrorists was an Afghan national.
During the presser, Bahadur said that "the entire planning of the attack took place in Afghanistan," where the terrorists were selected and trained before being sent to Pakistan.
"This terrorist operation can be divided into four parts. The first stage was planning in Afghanistan. The second was bringing the terrorists to Pakistan. The third stage involved the facilitators' network. The final stage was the supply of weapons and suicide jackets," he said.
According to Bahadur, investigators recovered videos from Bashir's mobile phone allegedly showing preparations for the operation.
"Bashir bid farewell to the terrorists before the attack and recorded a video," he said, adding that investigators also recovered footage showing the terrorists leaving for the attack after completing their preparations.
“One of the attackers, identified as Janan, was an Afghan national and a suicide bomber, while another was from Bajaur. A third suspect, Umar Farooq, was from Afghanistan’s Kunar province, and the fourth attacker, identified as Usman, was captured alive after being injured during the operation,” he said.
Bahadur said the terrorists selected for the Karachi attack were chosen in Afghanistan, and before being sent to Karachi, they were trained at two camps.
He said Usman told investigators he had been recruited from a religious seminary in Afghanistan and had received training at multiple camps before entering Pakistan.
According to Bahadur, the terrorists travelled through different parts of Afghanistan before entering Pakistan via Balochistan. They reached Hub before travelling by car to Karachi, where Bashir rented accommodation for them near Chamra Chowrangi.
Bahadur said Bashir also took Usman on a reconnaissance mission on a motorcycle to survey the Rangers facility.
Detailing the logistics, Bahadur said, he said that Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commander Saeed Shah tasked Ahsanullah with delivering the weapons, which were collected from another suspect, Liaqat, before being handed over to Bashir in Karachi.
"Kalashnikov rifles were supplied first, followed later by hand grenades," he said, adding that investigators had identified a six-member weapons-smuggling network, including Rahim Afridi.
Bahadur said investigators had identified 13 people allegedly involved in facilitating the attack.
He said the assault began when Janan detonated his suicide vest at the main gate, after which "the first two terrorists entered, followed by the third." Rangers then launched an operation in which three terrorists were killed and one was captured alive. Kalashnikov rifles, grenades and ammunition were recovered from the attackers, he added.
"There are safe havens for terrorists in Afghanistan. Terrorists are trained there and then sent to carry out attacks in Karachi and other parts of Pakistan," he said.
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Lanjar said four terrorists attacked a Rangers Karachi transport company on June 27 with the intention of taking hostages and causing mass casualties.
He said three of the attackers were Afghan nationals, while the fourth was from Bajaur and had lived in Afghanistan for around 20 years. According to the minister, all of the attackers' handlers were based in Afghanistan and directed the operation from there.
Lanjar said the attack was foiled by a Sindh Rangers operation in which three terrorists were killed, and one was arrested after being wounded. He added that investigators had since dismantled the network of alleged facilitators involved in the attack.
Read More: Rangers foil attack on Karachi camp, three soldiers martyred: ISPR
He said the captured suspect, Usman, told investigators he had been recruited from a religious seminary in Afghanistan and trained at two terrorist camps before being sent to Pakistan. A recording of his alleged confession was also played during the briefing.
Responding to questions from journalists, IG Sindh said there had been seven terrorist incidents in Sindh so far this year, compared with 37 during the same period last year. He said around 75 suspected terrorists had been arrested, while others had been killed in security operations.
Additional IG CTD Zulfiqar Lark said all those directly involved in the Karachi attack had been apprehended or killed and that investigators were now working to dismantle associated networks.