KARACHI, Pakistan, Feb 17 (Reuters) – Islamists stormed a police station in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi on Friday, killing at least two people in a hail of gunfire and a series of loud explosions.
Police snipers took up positions near the station and all lights in the area were switched off.
Security forces had cleared three of the building’s five floors as well as the rooftop, Murtaza Wahab, a spokesman for the Sindh provincial government, said.
The Karachi police surgeon told Reuters that two people had been killed and six wounded.
A huge explosion was heard inside the station after a series of blasts when it was first attacked.
The Pakistani Taliban, or Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), took responsibility for the attack in a message sent by their spokesman to journalists.
“Can’t exactly tell how many terrorists have entered but there are at least more than five,” Deputy Inspector General Irfan Baloch told Reuters.
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The station houses offices of the city’s most senior police. Baloch said there could have been up to 30 police at the station at the time of the attack.
The Islamist TTP, separate from the Taliban ruling neighbouring Afghanistan, has recently increased attacks on police in the northwest of Pakistan as part of its campaign against the government in Islamabad.
Overseas cricket players are competing in the Pakistan Super League, and Karachi is one of the host cities. There is a game scheduled for Saturday. The police station is located along the route to the stadium and the players’ hotel is a few kilometres away.
Top teams shunned Pakistan for years after six policemen and two civilians were killed in a 2009 attack on a bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore.
Police sealed off traffic on the main thoroughfare through Karachi and heavy contingents of security forces, including paramilitary soldiers, had arrived at the scene.
Media reported that there were between eight and 10 assailants.
Reporting by Ariba Shahid in Karachi and Gibran Peshimam in Islamabad; Editing by Toby Chopra and Nick Macfie
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
