Attacks on Rangers’ picket: Back-to-back attacks leave policeman dead

Police arrest two men allegedly associated with the outlawed TTP.

KARACHI:

In the latest string of attacks on law enforcers, a policeman lost his life and 1 other people, including two civilians, were wounded when two targeted bombs exploded at a Rangers picket in Kati Pahari, Qasba Colony on Saturday.

Witnesses and law enforcers said that the first explosion occurred when armed motorcyclists threw a ball bomb at the checkpost but no injuries were reported. The second blast which occurred ten minutes after the first one, however, claimed the life of a police constable and injured several others.

On June 4, eight Rangers personnel were wounded when unidentified motorcyclists threw an explosive device at the Rangers office near Nazimabad. A total of nine men of the paramilitary force have died in different attacks so far this year.

“As I reached the site after the first explosion, another bomb exploded with a loud bang,” said Pirabad SHO Abdul Moeed, while talking to The Express Tribune. “Thankfully, I am safe but one of my jawans lost his life.”

The victims were shifted to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for treatment, where police constable, Yousuf Khan, son of Behram Khan, succumbed to his injuries. Other victims include three policemen, five Rangers personnel, a three-year-old girl and a passer-by.



Doctors later confirmed that most of the victims sustained pellet injuries and were out of danger. Bomb disposal squad experts said that the first bomb contained around 200 grammes of explosive material while the second bomb contained two kilogrammes of explosive material, including ball bearings.

DSP Faisal Noor while talking to The Express Tribune said that the second explosion occurred when an IED device planted around 350 metres away from picket was detonated through a cell phone.

“Their [terrorists] plan was to target us by gathering us together after the first explosion,” DSP Noor explained. “They took at least ten minutes to carry out the second blast.”

Rangers officials said that it was a cowardly act by the terrorists and the attack would not hamper their efforts to maintain the law and order in the city. Initial investigation suggested that the IED device was planted in the early hours of the morning.

Following the dual explosions, extra contingents of law enforcers reached the site and cordoned off the entire area. They conducted targeted raids in Kati Pahari and its surrounding areas and arrested two suspects allegedly associated with the Bhalu group of the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The police have also registered a case against unidentified persons on behalf of the state and initiated further investigations.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 16^th, 2013.