Pakistani security forces killed six terrorists and captured one alive after they foiled a brazen attack by militants on a Sindh Rangers compound in Karachi on Saturday night. The deadly attack also left four paramilitary personnel dead and marked the first major terror strike in the city since October 2024.
It is learnt that the attackers belonged to Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a militant faction of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), who stormed the Sindh Rangers’ Bhittai Wing headquarters in Karachi’s densely populated Gulistan-e-Jauhar area around 8.30 pm.
The gun battle that lasted nearly 90 minutes ended with the killing of six terrorists and four paramilitary personnel.
Authorities quickly sealed off the compound and surrounding roads as heavy exchanges of gunfire continued. Residents were asked to stay indoors, while some nearby neighbourhoods experienced power outages during the operation.
The Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a militant faction of the TTP that has largely operated in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan, has claimed responsibility for the attack.
The last major TTP attack in Karachi occurred in February 2023, when terrorists stormed the Karachi Police Office on Shahrah-e-Faisal, resulting in multiple casualties. The attack comes amid heightened tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Since late last year, Pakistan’s military and intelligence agencies have repeatedly accused Afghanistan’s Taliban government of providing a safe haven to the TTP, enabling the group to launch cross-border attacks.
Yesterday’s attack reflects the growing tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan and the frustration of TTP-linked groups who have lost many of their members and top commanders since last year, when Pakistani forces began aerial bombing TTP targets inside Afghanistan.
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