Four Rangers personnel killed in Karachi attack

KARACHI: Four Rangers personnel were killed on Friday in the deadliest attack on the paramilitary force in the city this year with a senior anti-terrorism police officer warning that terrorists belonging to banned outfits were regrouping on the outskirts of the city.
The killings brought the toll of Rangers Jawans to six in terror attacks this year in Karachi, where the paramilitary force has been spearheading a targeted operation since September 2013 to end heinous crimes.
The four troops, identified as Qasim Ali, Shahdat Ali, Ashfaq and Akhtar Ali, were on duty at the Abu Huraira Masjid and the adjacent Madrassa in the Ittehad Town police remit and the Friday prayers were about to end when three gunmen on two motorcycles opened fire on them. While escaping from the scene, the gunmen also fired gunshots at the law enforcers’ vehicle, which was parked nearby.
The troops, who suffered bullet wounds on the heads and upper torso, were taken to the Murshid Hospital and later to another private hospital where they succumbed to their injuries.
Talking to The News, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Feroze Shah of West Range said the attackers used 9mm pistols and the police found seven bullet shells from the crime scene. The shells were sent to the forensic division of the Sindh Police for tests.
He said it was early to confirm the involvement of any group in the attack, but the Rangers and police had planned to speed up the raids and intelligence-driven operations in areas on the outskirts of the city to bring to justice the terrorists involved in this cowardly attack.
The DIG said elaborate security arrangements had been made jointly by the Rangers and police at mosques in different parts of the city, mostly in high-risk areas.Soon after the attack, Director General Sindh Rangers Major General Bilal Akbar reached the spot and inspected the crime scene. He was briefed about the incident by officials present there.
Talking to the media, Major General Bilal Akbar said: “The gunmen may have come to attack the mosque and our jawans who were posted for security duty stopped the terrorists.”He said the attackers were on two or three motorcycles. “We are carrying out an investigation into the incident.”
The DG Rangers said the terrorists and their planners would be brought to justice soon.Raja Umer Khattab, in charge of the Transnational Intelligence Group of the Counter Terrorism Department, Sindh, told The News that the involvement of a banned outfit in the attack on the Rangers personnel could not be ruled out.
“The Friday’s attack on Rangers personnel points to the presence or regrouping of members of banned outfits, most probably the Tehreek-e-Taliban Swat in the area,” he said after inspecting the site.
Owing to operations against them in the past, Khattab said, terrorists had fled to the upcountry areas, but for the past few months they had receiving reports of their regrouping in the outskirts of the city.
The senior police official said the Tehreek-e-Taliban Swat had much influence in the area, and during the year 2014 its members had attacked a number of police officials in Orangi Town, Ittehad Town and Mominabad. They had also targeted doctors and workers of a political party in the same region, he added.
The funeral prayers of the four slain soldiers were offered at the Rangers Training College, Toll Plaza.Corps Commander Karachi Lt-General Naveed Mukhtar, Additional IG Karachi Mushtaq Mehar, DG Rangers Major General Bilal Akbar and other senior officials attended the funeral prayers.
In a statement, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, condemning the assassination of Rangers Jawans in Karachi, said the “martyrdom of our Jawans will strengthen our resolve to fight this battle against terrorism”.