Daily Times

At least four people were martyred when a Taliban suicide squad stormed a police compound Friday in Karachi, with a gun battle raging for hours as security forces went floor-to-floor through an office building in pursuit of the assailants. The Taliban said its fighters stormed the tightly guarded Karachi Police Office compound, home to dozens of administrative and residential buildings as well as hundreds of officers and their families.

“Four people lost lives in the attack, including two policemen, one ranger, and one sanitary worker,” Sindh government spokesman Murtaza Wahab Siddiqui said, adding 18 others were wounded.

The Law enforcement agencies (LEAs) cleared the five-story office of the city’s police chief after nearly a four-hour operation – weeks after a deadly attack in Peshawar’s Police Lines. At least three militants blew themselves, while two were gunned down in the shootout, officials confirmed, as they swept the office situated on the main artery of Sharea Faisal. The attack began at 7:10pm, while police and Rangers personnel cleared the five-storey building in phases, finally sweeping the entire office by around 10:46pm. Police snipers took up positions near the station and all lights in the area were switched off.

A police officer, who did not want to be named, said the attackers entered the office wearing police uniforms – a tactic similar to the Peshawar mosque suicide attack that claimed the lives of more than 80 people.

Police officials said that armed suspects – whose total numbers are unknown at the moment – fired several rounds at the head office – located adjacent to the Sadar Police Station. The office of the Karachi police chief has been cleared, officials said. “I can so far confirm that the Karachi Police Office (KPO) building has been cleared. Three terrorists have been neutralised,” said Sindh government spokesperson Murtaza Wahab on Twitter at 10:42pm, three-and-a-half hours after the attack occurred.

He said that the bomb disposal squad was checking if the jackets worn by the terrorists were rigged to detonate. A spokesperson for the Sindh Rangers added the operation had been completed and the process of clearing the area was under way. DIG East Muqaddas Haider, who was among the senior officers leading the operation, said there were a total of three attackers who arrived at the KPO in a car. Haider said that one of the attackers blew himself up on the building’s fourth floor while two others were shot dead on the roof.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Karachi police said that all three terrorists who attacked the KPO had been killed in the operation. The spokesperson said that this was a “major operation” in which senior police officials, including the South and East DIGs, had participated alongside the Rangers and the army. “With grace of Almighty Allah, the KPO and surrounding areas have been cleared of the terrorists completely and further information will be shared with the media soon,” the police statement said. Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said that the attack took place around 7:10pm. He said that the city police chief was not currently in Karachi.

Sharea Faisal had been closed for traffic during the operation with the Sindh government spokesperson requesting citizens to stay put where they were. The Saddar police station, located next to the police chief’s office, had also issued a statement saying it had come under attack. “SHO, PI Khalid Hussain Memon said that unknown accused [attacked] Saddar police station near Karachi Police Office. Firing is going on everywhere,” the initial statement had said.