Karachi: At least three terrorists and three paramilitary soldiers were killed after heavily armed militants of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) attacked a compound belonging to the Sindh Rangers in Karachi, the army said Sunday.
The attack – the port city’s first major terrorist strike since October 2024 – on the Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) camp was carried out by terrorists belonging to Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a splinter group of the TTP, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing, said.
The attack took place around 8.30 pm Saturday when the terrorists rammed a vehicle into the gate of the Sindh Rangers Bhittai wing in the densely populated Gulistan-e-Jauhar area, and stormed in and lobbed hand grenades, which led to multiple explosions.
A local resident said authorities told people to stay inside their homes, and some residential buildings and areas experienced a power cut.
At least three terrorists were killed in the attack, and one, believed to be an Afghan national, was captured alive, the army said without disclosing further details.
“The assailants, after a blast at (the main gate of the camp, attempted to breach the perimeter security,” the ISPR said.
However, their attempt was foiled by the Rangers troops, eliminating three terrorists and capturing one, who is an Afghan national in an injured condition, it added.
During a visit to Karachi Saturday, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif accused India of using “proxies” in an attempt to undermine peace and stability in Pakistan. He, however, did not provide any evidence in support of his allegations.
The ISPR confirmed that three paramilitary soldiers were killed during the gun battle with the terrorists.
Sanitisation operations were being conducted to eliminate any other terrorists in the area, ISPR said.
A reliable security source said that Special Security Unit (SSU) commandos and the Anti-Terrorist Force (ATF) had helped the rangers kill the attackers and capture one injured.
Immediately after the attack, the authorities cordoned off the compound and closed all nearby adjoining roads.
The Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a faction of the banned TTP, has mostly remained active in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province in recent years, targeting civilians, security personnel and government functionaries.
This was the first terrorist attack in Karachi after October 2024, when two Chinese engineers were killed in a suicide attack near the Karachi airport by the outlawed insurgent Balochistan Liberation Army.
The TTP, in its last major terror attack, stormed the main headquarters of Karachi police on the Shahrah-e-Faisal in February 2023, which resulted in multiple casualties.
Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been strained since late last year as Islamabad has repeatedly said that the Taliban government in Kabul is providing a safe haven to the TTP, accusing them of cross-border attacks.
Pakistan’s military has carried out several operations on what they say are hideouts and training centres of the TTP in Afghanistan.