KARACHI: Five Tehreek-e-Taliban (Pakistan) militants with heavy weapons were killed when security forces were able to regain control of the Karachi Police Chief's headquarters following a daring attack by the militants in the nation's most populous city.
Around 10.50 p.m., the nearly four-hour-long operation to retake the five-story building came to a dramatic end with the deaths of four additional people, including two police constables, a member of the rangers, and a civilian, in a heavy exchange of gunfire between the TTP militants and security forces.
A top security source said, the operation resulted in the deaths of five terrorists. He claimed that two people committed suicide while two were killed in the long gun battle, which also resulted in some structural damage to one floor.
The Karachi Police Office (KPO) building has been cleared, according to Sindh government spokesperson Murtaza Wahab, who posted on Twitter. He declared, "Three terrorists have been neutralised." He stated that in addition to the two police officers, rangers, and civilian, four other persons had also died and 17 others had been injured and were being treated in hospitals.
Despite various reports, police sources estimated the number of terrorists who attacked and penetrated the building at eight. A senior police official said, "A clear image will be known tomorrow as the combing and clean up operation is being carried out systematically in the premises after seizing possession." However,, "The identification procedure is still on, so it will be some time before we can determine with certainty how many terrorists attacked the building.", he said.
They also found two cars with their doors open, one at the building's back entrance and one at the front, through where the terrorists entered at 7.10 p.m. on Friday, according to senior police official DIG South Irfan Baloch. The bomb disposal team searched both cars for explosives as well as the terrorists' suicide vests.
They managed to enter the premises while wearing police clothes and arrived well-prepared for a standoff with advanced weaponry and explosives.
The attack is a major source of worry and embarrassment for the provincial government because the Saddar police station and the Karachi Police Chief office are both situated on the main Shahrah-e-Faisal road, Karachi's main thoroughfare, which is also home to several strategically important buildings, including the Pakistan Air Force's Faisal Base, as well as five-star hotels.
In order for Karachi to hold matches on Saturday and Sunday, international cricket players who are currently competing in the Pakistan Super League are lodging in these hotels.
The PSL matches, according to Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, won't be impacted by the incident. According to a senior police official, security was stepped up at the team hotels as well as at the National Stadium, where games are being played, as soon as the terrorist assault occurred. The Shahrah-e-Faisal road, which connects Karachi's centre to the airport, was shut down by the police during the operation to evacuate the building, but it was reopened at midnight.
Terrorists have increased their attacks on security forces and facilities, as well as on mosques and markets, in different regions of the country since the TTP and government's ceasefire agreement collapsed last year in November, although Karachi has not recently seen a significant incident.
The most recent significant event occurred in June 2020 when four militants from the outlawed Baloch Liberation Army assaulted the Karachi Stock Exchange, murdering three persons while also killing themselves as they attempted to break into the stock exchange's grounds.
The banned TTP, which claimed responsibility for Friday's strike, has previously carried out risky terror operations on Karachi security facilities, most notably when they attacked the PNS Mehran facility in 2011.
Ten security personnel died as a result of the attack and clearance operation, which took 17 hours. The strike also damaged two surveillance planes made in the US. 24 lives were killed and property was damaged when the TTP also assaulted the old terminal at Jinnah International Airport in 2014.
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