Three ‘TTP militants’ arrested from Maymar house

The Sindh Rangers and the Karachi police have claimed to foil potential terrorism in the city by arresting three militants of a terrorist organisation during a joint operation.

The spokesperson for the paramilitary force said on Sunday that the militants belong to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and their arrests were made during an intelligence-based raid on a house in the Gulshan-e-Maymar neighbourhood.

The Rangers spokesperson identified the suspects as Yasin (alias Abu Hunzala, alias Qari), Ikramullah (alias Faisal) and Muhammad Khalid (alias Mansoor, alias Umar). He said the Rangers and police also recovered weapons, ammunition and explosives from their possession.

The spokesperson said the militants were associated with the Qari Saad Bilal group of the TTP and they were planning to carry out major terrorist attacks in the city. He said Yasin had been in touch with Saad Bilal, alias Humayun, for the past couple of years.

The Rangers spokesperson said Yasin admitted to have targeted sensitive installations in Karachi, including the Jinnah International Airport, the US Consulate and the Pakistan Security Printing Corporation. He said the suspect also admitted to have carried out recce of sensitive installations across the city and sending their video clips to Qari Saad Bilal.

The spokesperson said Ikramullah, TTP commander Iqbal Hussain (alias Abu Turab) and others have been involved in various terrorist activities, including the attacks on a government primary school and a police station in Shakardara.

He said Khalid and others had recently returned from Afghanistan to carry out major terrorist activities in Karachi, as he is a trained militant and a close aide of Yasin. The arrested militants have been handed over to the police for further action, he added.