Ansarul Sharia chief among eight gunned down in Karachi

KARACHI: Eight Ansarul Sharia Pakistan (ASP) terrorists, including the outfit’s chief, were gunned down early on Sunday on the outskirts of the city. Two Rangers soldiers and a Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) official were also injured in the shootout.

Later in the day, Colonel Faisal Awan of the paramilitary force conducted a media briefing at the Rangers Headquarters with the CTD’s DIG Aamir Farooqi to disclose the details of the operation.

The Rangers had received information during the wee hours that some terrorists were holed up in Baldia Town, following which they shared the report with other agencies, including the CTD.

Planning to raid the hideout, the paramilitary soldiers set out for the town along with CTD officials. Spotting the team approached the hideaway in Raees Goth, the terrorists opened fire and wounded two Rangers soldiers and a CTD official.

The paramilitary and counterterrorism officials launched a retaliatory attack in which they engaged the terrorists for more than an hour. By the time the shootout ended, five terrorists had been gunned down and three wounded, but the latter succumbed to their injuries on the way to the hospital.

The dead terrorists included Shaharyaruddin Warsi, alias Dr Abdullah Hashmi, chief of the ASP and mastermind of every terrorist attack carried out by the group, as well as Arsalan Baig, member of the outfit’s target killing team.

The officials also found sophisticated weapons, spy cameras, laptops, recording devices, mobile phones and several documents on the terrorists. Forensic reports suggest that the weapons confiscated during the raid were used by the group in earlier attacks.