Umamah Bakharia | ub@radioislam.co.za

2 min read
17 February 2023 | 23:05 CAT

Four people have been killed after Pakistani Taliban fighters stormed a police precinct in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi.

Picture: AP News

According to government officials, three members of the security forces and a civilian was killed and several other security members wounded following the attack outside the police premises on Friday.

Ghulam Nabi Memon, police chief for Sindh province – where Karachi is the capital – says suicide bombers were killed after entering the police building causing a blast.

According to state reports, when the attack began, a huge explosion was heard inside the station after a series of smaller blasts.

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), known as the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attack.

Murtaza Wahab, a government adviser, confirmed that police and paramilitary forces in a joint operation cleared the police building within three hours of the attack late Friday.

“I confirm that the operation against the terrorists is over,” said Wahab.

Pakistani President Arif Alvi condemned the attack on Pakistan’s chief commercial city while Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif praised security forces for the successful operation.

Pakistan has witnessed a increase in attacks by armed militants since November when the Pakistani Taliban unilaterally ended a months-long ceasefire with the government.

The assault on Karachi’s police headquarters comes just weeks after a suicide bomber disguised as a policeman killed 101 people at a mosque in the northwestern city of Peshawar.

Authorities blamed the TTP for being the force behind the bombing.