While there has been no major breakthrough in investigations regarding the twin blasts in Karachi on Wednesday, bomb disposal squad (BDS) personnel defused two bombs on Thursday, one of them near a separate Imambargah in the same locality.
According to authorities, the device was planted at a Rangers picket under construction near Ali Imambargah in Orangi Town.
They say one of the labourers working at the picket noticed a cell phone connected to some wires partly concealed in a concrete block and immediately notified the police.
Police and BDS reached the site soon after to evacuate it and defuse the bomb.
A BDS expert told The Express Tribune that the three-kilogramme device was attached to a timer as well as to the cell phone.
He added that it resembled the devices used in Wednesday’s twin blasts and Sunday’s blast in Abbas Town.
“The timer was set for 1:30… whether it was set for am or pm is uncertain,” said District West Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Javed Odho.
“The Imambargah is very close to the picket where the bomb was found… Terrorists were either targeting people heading to or coming back from the Majlis (congregation) held at the place of worship, or Rangers personnel who would have been manning the picket,” he added.
The DIG told The Express Tribune that police have detained two alleged suspects from a nearby concrete block depot and were interrogating them for possible leads.
Law enforcement agencies have also detained over a dozen other suspects, including alleged members of banned organisations, in the aftermath of the Orangi Town blasts, Odho added.
The second bomb was discovered less than nine hours later near Imambargah Zainul Abideen in Ittehad Town, six kilometres from Orangi Town.
According to DIG Odho, policemen deployed for the Imambargah’s security spotted a suspicious canister close by and notified BDS immediately. BDS experts told The Express Tribune that the second device appeared incomplete since it had no timer or remote trigger.
It used around five kilogrammes of explosive materials, however.
A senior Crime Investigation Department (CID) official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Express Tribune that the recent string of blasts suggested banned outfits, especially Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) and Jundullah, have joined forces in carrying out terrorist activities during Muharram.
“The Abbas Town blast came the same day our security plan was finalised… it was intended to challenge law enforcement agencies,” he said, adding security threats remained in Karachi.
The CID official said TTP, LeJ and Jundullah were currently active in the city, under directions from LeJ Ameer Asif Chohto in Waziristan.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 23rd, 2012.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ