KARACHI - The law enforcement agencies on Monday claimed to have killed three militants including a wanted Al-Qaeda member in a raid carried out at Khuda Bux Goth near Northern Bypass, within the remits of Malir District.
The SSP Malir Irfan Ali Bahadur while divulging details of the raid said that acting on a tip-off, intelligence officials along with Malir police carried out a raid at a militant hideout in Khuda Bux Goth, within the remits of Super Highway Site Industrial Area police station.
“As soon as the personnel surrounded the militants, they opened fire; ensuing an encounter that claimed injuries to the militants while two of their accomplices were able to flee from the spot,” he said adding that the injured later succumbed to their wounds while being shifted to the hospital. No one from the law enforcement side sustained injuries during the encounter, he added.
The authorities recovered a suicide vest, four hand grenades, two sub-machine guns and a pistol from the possession of the militants, said SSP Malir and added that search for the fleeing culprits was ongoing.
The bodies were shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital (ASH) for medico-legal formalities.
The police claimed that one of those killed was identified as Talat Mehmood alias Yousuf, son of Muhammad Hayat, a top militant affiliated with Al-Qaeda and Daesh in the province. It said that Mehmood, a resident of Hyderabad, was wanted by the police authorities in different cases under terrorism and was named in the Red book. The militant was not only a close associate of key al Qaeda member Umar, who was involved in Safoora attack, but was also involved in killing policemen and a jailer in Hyderabad.
The other militant was identified as Sheikh Shahid, who remained arrested during 2002-06 for his involvement in Daniel Pearl murder and was a close associate of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi chief Naeem Bokhari. He was an expert in bomb-making.
The third militant was also an active member of al-Qaeda in Indian Sub-Continent and was involved in killing four policemen in Korangi area of the city and an attack on Imambargah in 2013.
It is pertinent to mention here that Malir district under the police jurisdiction is infamous for several police encounters that were led by former SSP Malir Rao Anwar. He was nowadays facing a case against him for extra-judicial killing of Naqeeb Ullah Mehsud. The former SSP, who remained incharge of the Malir district for years, was also blamed for over 400 extra-judicial killings in the area.