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8 killed in Karachi as Taliban targets anti-terror policeman
Source: Agencies |
September 20, 2011, Tuesday
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A TALIBAN suicide bomber detonated a vehicle packed with explosives yesterday outside the home of a senior police officer tasked with cracking down on militants in Pakistan's largest city. The blast killed at least eight people and left a crater 3 meters deep, police said.
The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the early morning attack in the southern port city of Karachi. The target of the bombing, Chaudhry Aslam, escaped unscathed and said he would not be cowed by the attack.
"This is a cowardly act," Aslam told local television. "I'm not scared. I will not spare them."
The eight people killed included six policemen guarding Aslam's house as well as a schoolteacher and her son who were passing by, said Karachi police chief Saud Mirza. He estimated that at least 300 kilograms of explosives were used in the attack.
The death toll could have been even worse if it had happened a few minutes later when many children would have been headed to schools near Aslam's house in the Defense neighborhood of Karachi, an upscale residential area that rarely experiences militant attacks or other forms of violence that plague the city.
"Thank God it was half an hour before school time," said former Pakistani cricket team captain Moin Khan, who passed by the site of the attack shortly after the blast.
"It was horrible. I saw four bodies," said Khan. "Pieces of vehicles were scattered more than 100 feet."
Local television footage showed extensive damage from the blast. The fronts of several two-story concrete buildings were totally blown away. Rubble littered the streets amid the burned wreckage of cars.
Aslam is a top police officer in the Crime Investigation Department, which works to arrest Taliban fighters and other militants in Karachi, home to 18 million people and Pakistan's main commercial hub.
Pakistani Taliban spokesman Ahsanullah Ahsan claimed responsibility for the attack.
"We will continue targeting all such officers who are involved in the killing of our comrades," Ahsan said in a telephone call from an undisclosed location.
Also yesterday, Pakistani intelligence officials said soldiers seized the wreckage of a suspected US drone that crashed in the South Waziristan tribal area near the Afghan border and was initially snatched by the Taliban.
Troops fought the militants for 24 hours and eventually called in helicopter gunships to wrest control of the wreckage, said the officials. Eight militants were killed and three soldiers were wounded, they said.
Ahsan confirmed the army had seized control of the wreckage but denied any militants died in the fighting. He claimed the Taliban shot down the drone on Saturday night using an anti-aircraft gun.
Intelligence officials said army engineers were inspecting the wreckage to determine the cause of the crash.
The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the early morning attack in the southern port city of Karachi. The target of the bombing, Chaudhry Aslam, escaped unscathed and said he would not be cowed by the attack.
"This is a cowardly act," Aslam told local television. "I'm not scared. I will not spare them."
The eight people killed included six policemen guarding Aslam's house as well as a schoolteacher and her son who were passing by, said Karachi police chief Saud Mirza. He estimated that at least 300 kilograms of explosives were used in the attack.
The death toll could have been even worse if it had happened a few minutes later when many children would have been headed to schools near Aslam's house in the Defense neighborhood of Karachi, an upscale residential area that rarely experiences militant attacks or other forms of violence that plague the city.
"Thank God it was half an hour before school time," said former Pakistani cricket team captain Moin Khan, who passed by the site of the attack shortly after the blast.
"It was horrible. I saw four bodies," said Khan. "Pieces of vehicles were scattered more than 100 feet."
Local television footage showed extensive damage from the blast. The fronts of several two-story concrete buildings were totally blown away. Rubble littered the streets amid the burned wreckage of cars.
Aslam is a top police officer in the Crime Investigation Department, which works to arrest Taliban fighters and other militants in Karachi, home to 18 million people and Pakistan's main commercial hub.
Pakistani Taliban spokesman Ahsanullah Ahsan claimed responsibility for the attack.
"We will continue targeting all such officers who are involved in the killing of our comrades," Ahsan said in a telephone call from an undisclosed location.
Also yesterday, Pakistani intelligence officials said soldiers seized the wreckage of a suspected US drone that crashed in the South Waziristan tribal area near the Afghan border and was initially snatched by the Taliban.
Troops fought the militants for 24 hours and eventually called in helicopter gunships to wrest control of the wreckage, said the officials. Eight militants were killed and three soldiers were wounded, they said.
Ahsan confirmed the army had seized control of the wreckage but denied any militants died in the fighting. He claimed the Taliban shot down the drone on Saturday night using an anti-aircraft gun.
Intelligence officials said army engineers were inspecting the wreckage to determine the cause of the crash.
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