Rangers HQ attacked by militants, five injured

Rangers claim to have killed one of the suspects involved in the attack.

KARACHI:

At least five people were injured when militants attempted to attack the Rangers Headquarters in North Nazimabad for the third time in the last 18 months.

Unlike the previous attack, no law enforcer was injured. Those hurt in the attack were bystanders and shopkeepers. They were identified as Rana Buksh, 35, Irfan Khan, 30, Nadeem Irshad, 50, Ghulam Abbas, 35, and Khalida Siraj. They were taken to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for treatment. According to Irfan Khan, he had just bought breakfast and was heading home when the blast took place. "I remember feeling breathless," he said. "Then the next thing I remember is that I was being taken to the hospital in an ambulance."

The Rangers and several witnesses claim that the explosion occurred seconds after an official vehicle carrying Rangers personnel went by. "The blast took place within walking distance from us," said a law enforcer who was in the vehicle. "We felt the impact of the blast and the windows of our vehicle were shattered." He added that instead of bringing them down, these attacks were encouraging them to do something against the militants.

SHO Nawaz Gondal said that the police have found the number plate of the motorcycle used in the attack. "The registration number suggests that it was issued to a man named Kamran," he said. "But we have yet to ascertain if the number plate was a fake or original." Following the explosion, the bomb disposal squad (BDS) reached the Rangers HQ and collected evidence from the bomb site. They said that the bomb was planted on a motorcycle parked near the headquarters. "Around five kilogrammes of explosives, including ball bearings, was planted in a motorcycle and was detonated with a remote control device," said a BDS official.

Previous attacks

The Rangers North Nazimabad headquarters is located in a residential area and has been attacked twice before. The first attack took place in November 2012 and left three Rangers dead with at least 26 others injured.

The second attack took place in January this year and left four people, including three Rangers, dead and eight others injured in three consecutive bomb blasts. The first bomb was planted by the roadside near the Nazimabad No. 7 flyover and exploded, no casualties were reported. Fifteen minutes later, as the Rangers and police were collecting evidence, the second bomb went off.

A law enforcer was killed and seven, including four Rangers, were injured. Less than two hours after the second blast, a third one took place outside the main gate of the Pakistan Rangers Sacchal Wing - roughly half a kilometre away from the place where the first two blasts took place. The third bomb blast left two Rangers dead.

Official statement

The Rangers claim that the previous attacks were carried out by the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) Naeem Bukhari and Azizullah Shamzai groups but the responsibility of this attack lay with the TTP's splinter group - the Waliur Rehman group. They believe that this was a retaliation for the May 16 raid carried out in Mianwali Colonly in which an alleged militant was killed and Abid Mucchar was wounded.

Mucchar is part of TTP's Waliur Rehman Group. Besides carrying out bomb blasts to sabotage last year's elections, Mucchar was also involved in carrying out a suicide attack on the Rangers in Manghopur in 2013. "We are taking action against them and that is why they are attacking us," said a senior official of the Rangers. "This attack on the Rangers is most likely a reaction of our action against Abid Mucchar. We will not leave him or his group alone."

Meanwhile, Rangers claimed to have killed an alleged terrorist in an encounter in Manghopir. According to Rangers officials, the alleged terrorist was involved in the attack on the Rangers Headquarters earlier in the day.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 22^nd, 2014.