Pakistan: 4 troops, 6 terrorists killed in 90-minute gun battle at Karachi rangers HQ

NEW DELHI: Pakistani security forces said they foiled a militant attack on a Sindh Rangers compound in Karachi on Saturday night, killing six terrorists and arresting another. The assault claimed the lives of four rangers personnel and was the first major terrorist attack in the city since October 2024.According to a security source, the attackers belonged to Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a faction of the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). They launched the attack around 8.30pm by crashing a vehicle through the main gate of the Sindh Rangers' Bhittai Wing headquarters in Karachi's Gulistan-e-Jauhar area.The attackers then entered the compound and threw hand grenades, triggering multiple explosions before exchanging fire with security personnel. Rangers, backed by the Special Security Unit (SSU) and the Anti-Terrorist Force (ATF), fought the militants in an operation that lasted nearly 90 minutes. By the end of the gun battle, six attackers had been killed and one injured militant was captured alive.Four Rangers personnel were killed while defending the compound.Authorities cordoned off the area and shut nearby roads during the operation. Residents were advised to stay indoors as heavy gunfire continued, while power was temporarily cut in some nearby neighbourhoods.Jamaat-ul-Ahrar later claimed responsibility for the attack. The group, which operates mainly in Pakistan's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province along the Afghan border, has carried out several attacks targeting civilians, security forces and government officials.The assault was Karachi's first major terrorist attack since October 2024, when two Chinese engineers were killed in a suicide bombing near Karachi airport. That attack was claimed by the banned Balochistan Liberation Army.Before this, the last major TTP attack in Karachi took place in February 2023, when militants stormed the Karachi Police Office on Shahrah-e-Faisal, leaving multiple people dead.Sindh Inspector General of Police Javed Alam Odho initially said three Rangers personnel had been killed."More details are being collected, but initial investigations confirm the terrorists arrived in a vehicle and entered the compound by ramming the main gate. The Rangers personnel responded rapidly," he said.Odho said an explosion was heard at the start of the attack, though investigators were still determining what caused it."What is confirmed is that as soon as the attack took place, the Rangers personnel immediately took positions and engaged the attackers in a gun battle," he added.Sindh chief minister Murad Ali Shah directed the provincial police chief and Karachi's additional inspector general of police to submit a detailed report on the attack.Rescue 1122 Sindh said it received reports of an explosion near Gulistan-e-Jauhar Block 5 and immediately dispatched emergency response teams to the area.The attack comes at a time of growing tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Islamabad has repeatedly accused Afghanistan's Taliban government of sheltering TTP militants and allowing them to launch crossborder attacks.Pakistan has also carried out several strikes inside Afghanistan, saying it targeted TTP hideouts and training camps.Catch the latest world news and top headlines. Download the TOI App.