Bus driver, four others identify two attackers

Karachi
As many as five witnesses identified in an identification parade two accused, Tahir Hussain alias Sain and Saad Aziz alias Tin Tin, involved in the Safoora bus carnage before a local court on Friday.
Around 47 members of the Ismaili community travelling in a bus were executed by armed gunmen near the Safoora Chowrangi on May 13.
The witnesses included two women, a man, a child and another person who had driven the ill-fated bus to Memon Hospital after the tragic incident occurred.
All the five witnesses identified the two accused and confirmed their involvement in the murders of 47 people.
It may be mentioned that Tahir Hussain alias Sain had told the interrogation team that the Middle-East based terror organisation, Islamic State, had been behind the attack.
He had claimed that Abdullah bin Yousaf, according to him the IS chief for Karachi and Punjab, had issued orders for the attack. Tahir had told the interrogators that Yousaf was hiding somewhere in Afghanistan’s Helmand province or Syria. He had also admitted that he planned to escape to Syria with his family but was caught before he could do so.
Tahir had also claimed that Saad Aziz alias Tin Tin had chalked the walls with ‘Daish’, an acronym for IS, in different parts of the city.
Five suspects – Saad Aziz, Muhammad Azhar Ishrat, Haafiz Nasir, Tahir Hussain Minhas and Asadur Rehman – had been arrested by the Sindh Police for their alleged involvement in the Safoora bus attack.
Besides the Safoora bus attack, the suspects are also allegedly involved in the murder of T2F director Sabeen Mahmud, firing and injuring US academic Debra Lobo, carrying out attacks on naval officers with magnet-fitted bomb, suicidal attack on Brigadier Basit of Rangers, grenade attacks on private schools in Nazimabad and North Nazimabad, bomb blast and target killing of Bohri community in Arambagh area and North Nazimabad, and also bomb attacks on police mobiles and killings of police personnel at various locations in Karachi.
Weapons recovered from the suspects had included three Kalashnikovs, seven 9mm pistols, five grenades. Moreover, five laptop computers, seven pieces of explosive materials and extremist militant literature had been found in their possession.
The accused are being tried in anti-terrorism courts in different cases and they have been granted physical remand for interrogation.
Both Tahir Hussain and Saad Aziz are being tried with Asadur Rehman for another case pertaining to the possession of illegal arms, explosive material and police encounter. Meanwhile Saad Aziz is also being tried for the murder of two men, Muhammad Khan and Mustansar Abbad, injuring six people in firing in Bahadurabad area and killing two policemen in Ferozabad area.
Another accused, namely Rehman, had assisted him for the murder of a policeman, Arshad, and carrying out the attack on US academic Debora Lobo.