Two terrorists, including ‘KPO attack mastermind’, killed in overnight CTD operation

The Sindh police on Monday claimed to have killed the mastermind of the recent terrorist attack on the Karachi Police Office (KPO) along with his accomplice during an overnight operation.

Two other suspects were also arrested in the operation that was carried out by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) of the police. The CTD said it seized weapons, motorcycles and suicide vests from the possession of the arrested men.

The operation took place on the night between Sunday and Monday near the Northern Bypass in the Manghopir area. According to CTD Incharge Raja Umer Khattab, the mastermind of the KPA attack was a man, Aryadullah, alias Hassan, who was killed along with his companion Waheedullah, alias Khalid, alias Huzaifa, during an exchange of fire with the CTD.

The CTD incharge added that their two accomplices, Abdul Aziz, alias Ali, and Mehran, alias Maherban, were also arrested during the operation. Later in the day, Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon addressed a press conference to brief the media on the CTD operation. He was accompanied by the CTD incharge, Additional IG CTD Imran Yaqoob Minhas, DIG CTD Zulfiqar Larik and SSP Tariq Nawaz.

The information minister told the press conference that the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was behind the attack on the KPO on February 17 and it had also claimed the responsibility of the attack.

“Five of our people were martyred and around 20 were injured in the Karachi Police Office attack on February 17,” Memon said, adding that the intelligence and law enforcement agencies initiated joint investigations after the terrorist attack.

Regarding the overnight operation, he said the law enforcers had received reports about presence of terrorists near the border of Sindh and Balochistan. He explained that those terrorists were entering Karachi from Hub.

“When the CTD tried to stop the terrorists, the CTD team came under attack. In the retaliatory action, two terrorists were killed and two others were arrested,” the information minister said. He explained that the deceased terrorists had a suicide jacket with them and experts of the bomb disposal squad who were accompanying the CTD team defused the jacket.

Memon shared that the vehicle used in the KPO attack was purchased from Hub a day before the attack at a cost of Rs1 million. He added that one of the terrorists who attacked the KPO, Kifayatullah, alias Anus, and Aziz, who was arrested in the overnight operation, had purchased that car, for which money was provided by Aryadullah and Waheedullah.

“The KPO attackers-cum-suicide bombers had reached Karachi by buses a week ago and stayed at the house of Waheedullah in the Ahsanabad area of Karachi while the weapons, ammunition and jackets used in the KPO attack were trucked from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Tank district,” the minister explained.

In an emotional tone, Memon decried reorganisation of the banned TLP in the country and accused former prime minister Imran Khan of facilitating the banned outfit. The CTD said it seized one suicide jacket, three pistols, two motorcycles and 80 bullets from the possession of the killed and arrested terrorists.

The department also stated that one of the three terrorists of the KPO attack who could not be identified had come from Afghanistan and his code name was Yasir. CTD officials said the real name of Yasir was not known to his accomplices and there was also no record of him with the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra).

It was revealed during interrogation with the arrested suspects that reconnaissance for the attack on the KPO was being done for eight months and the attack was planned in Afghanistan.

On the evening of February 17, three militants wearing suicide jackets and carrying sophisticated weapons entered the KPO. In the ensuing operation, two of them were killed by the police and one blew himself up.

Four, including two policemen and a Sindh Rangers sub-inspector, embraced martyrdom and 18 others, mostly police and Rangers’ personnel, were injured during the hours-long joint operation carried out by the police, Rangers and army personnel at the heavily-guarded office of the Karachi police situated in the heart of the metropolis.

Tando Jam talk

Separately, meeting people of the constituency at his residence, Rawal House, Tando Jam, Memon said he is in close contact with the people in order to solve their problems and steps are being taken in this regard.

He said the PPP is a democratic public party and being a public party, it believes in solving the problems of the people. He added that the Sindh government is making full efforts to control inflation, and provide relief to the people. Before Ramazan, he said, price control committees will also be formed and Bachat bazaars set up so that poor people can get the maximum benefit. The minister directed the administrator of Hyderabad to improve sanitation, street lights and other matters before Ramazan.