CTD kills three ‘terrorists involved in sectarian killings’

Anti-terror police gunned down three alleged terrorists of a banned outfit in a pre-dawn encounter that took place in a locality of the Korangi district on Thursday.

The shootout began when police returned fire after it came under attack during a raid on a hideout of terrorists belonging to an Afghanistan-based Burmi group.

The raid was carried out with the assistance of an intelligence agency over a tip-off about the presence of terrorists, said Additional Inspector General Sanaullah Abbasi of Sindh’s Counter Terrorism Department (CTD).

A CTD-II official was wounded, and in the retaliatory gunfire, three terrorists were arrested in an injured condition. All three later died. An unspecified number of their associates managed to escape from the scene. 

During the search of the hideout, the police found three hand grenades, hundreds of bullets, three pistols and explosive material.

Additional IG Abbasi said the terrorists, identified as Saeedullah alias Haris, Abdul Ghani alias Ghaniya and Noorul Amin alias Abdullah, had been associated with different banned outfits, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and Al-Qaeda.

The three had been working for a Burmi group, whose commander was currently in Afghanistan and using a codename Zaka, he said, adding that Zaka had tasked them with operating in Pakistan, especially in Karachi, and that they were involved in killing members of the Ahmedi community and personnel of security forces. 

The would-be targets of the terrorists were people belonging to the Shia, Bohra, Ismaili and Ahmedi communities as well as law enforcers, he said.

Saeedullah was said to have been associated with the TTP and earlier his brother was killed in a drone strike in Waziristan. His other brother was said to be a TTP commander. Saeedullah had been allegedly operating terrorism activities in Karachi and had killed members of the Ahmedi community.

He told interrogators that he also in contact with commanders of the TTP and other banned outfits and used to provide information to them. Furthermore, he used to facilitate families of bombers.

Abdul Ghani was from Miranshah and had been involved in carrying out attacks on personnel of armed forces. He possessed expertise in making improvised explosive devices (IEDs). He was also known as a close associate of AQIS commander Zarrar, who is operating from Afghanistan. 

Zarrar had provided him Rs0.8 million for the purchase of a boat so that they could carry out terrorist activities at sea installations. He was trained in the Bramcha area of Afghanistan.

Noorul Amin belonged to AQIS and was involved in carrying out attacks on security forces in the Gomal Zai and Mashis areas of Waziristan. Moreover, he worked in a factory where IEDs were prepared.

He also allegedly recruited youngsters for suicide bombings and was tasked by Noor Khan, a commander of AQIS from Afghanistan, with targeting officials of the security forces.