Four persons including two policemen were killed while 14 others wounded when a suicide bomber targeted SSP Police at Malir Halt area of Karachi on Thursday. Another three policemen were killed by unidentified gunmen in PIB Colony of the city.
The banned outfit Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility of the suicide attack.
According to police sources, a bomber rammed an explosives-laded motorbike into a police Armored Personnel Carrier (APC) at Malir Halt that killed four persons including two policemen while 14 others sustained injuries.
"The attack was against me. I was moving with my squad in Malir Halt district when the explosion took place. I am unhurt, but some of my men have been injured," Rao Anwar, SSP Malir told a private TV channel.
He claimed to have been threatened for a month by "unknown terrorists”. “It was a suicide attack," police official Tahir Naveed told.
"The attacker was killed in the blast and the body in hospital is suspected to be his," he added.
Rescue teams reached the spot and kicked off relief efforts while police and Rangers cordoned off the area.
Police said that it was high intensity blast which besides causing causalities and injuries, smashed windowpanes of nearby buildings and damaged vehicles near the scene of blast.
Meantime, a suspicious injured person has been taken in custody from a hospital.
In another incident of killing, unknown armed men opened fire on a police vehicle in the PIB colony area of Karachi, killing three policemen early on Thursday morning.
According to the police, a police vehicle was on routine patrol in PIB colony when it came under indiscriminate firing by unknown assailants, critically injuring all three policemen onboard the vehicle.
The injured policemen were rushed to Jinnah hospital where all three succumbed to their wounds. Those killed in the attack were identified as ASI Dhani Baksh, Constable Nisar and Constable Ramzan. The incident created panic in PIB colony as markets and other business activities were closed down. The attackers fled from the scene along with the official weapons of the deceased policemen.
Earlier an armoured vehicle of the police was on routine patrol when it was attacked by unknown attackers in the Naya’abad area of Lyari. No one was injured in the attack whereas firing continued periodically and tension gripped the area after the incident.
SSP city began conducting an operation in the area along with a heavy contingent of police and arrested four suspects.