4 Rangers perish in Karachi blast, Taliban claims responsibility

Naimat Khan
KARACHI: At least four Rangers personnel were killed and several others injured in a bomb blast which the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed they carried out on Wednesday in Karachi.
According to reports, the Improvised Explosive Device (IED), planted close to the Rangers’ vehicle near the Bhittai Rangers Headquarters located in Korangi No. 5 area, went off which the Bomb Disposal Squad (BDS) officials said was detonated with remote control device.
Soon after the blast, rescue and emergency response teams reached the spot and shifted the injured to the Jinnah Hospital where Dr Seemi Jamali, in-charge of the emergency department confirmed four of the injured expired.
Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Police, Tahir Naveed told media that seven people including two civilians were injured in the blast.
The vehicle of Rangers was completely destroyed in the blast which spread fear and panic among the local residents as shops and small businesses were reportedly shut after the incident.
Meantime, the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack on Rangers force in Karachi. Speaking to media from an undisclosed location, outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan said that the Rangers had been targeted because of their hostility towards Taliban.
The TTP spokesman said that the law enforcement agencies were protectors of secular rulers who had been following the agenda of outsiders.
Meanwhile, different political leaders condemned the attack on Rangers in the troubled metropolis. ANP president Asfandyar Wali Khan and Sindh Chapter president senator Shahi Syed in a statement flayed the attack.
Chief of Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) Altaf Hussain also strongly condemned the bomb attack on Rangers while expressing his grief and sorrow on the killing and wounding of Rangers personnel in the attack.
Hussain said that terrorists of banned outfits were targeting police and security forces in Karachi and they were bent upon destabilizing the country by unleashing terrorism. He said that he had been warning for a long time that Karachi was becoming a hotbed of terrorists of band outfits who were now attacking the personnel of police, Rangers, CID police, and other law-enforcing agencies besides common people.
Meanwhile, President Asif Ali Zardari has strongly condemned a blast near headquarters of rangers in Karachi and expressed heartfelt grief and sorrow over the Shahadat of rangers personnel in the cowardly terrorist act.
The President directed the authorities concerned to apprehend the culprits involved in the heinous crime and bring them to book besides submitting a report in this regard.
He also conveyed his heartfelt condolences and sympathies to the victim families and prayed for the eternal peace of the departed souls.
The President also directed the authorities concerned to provide best medical treatment to the injured.

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