KARACHI: Three Pakistan Rangers personnel were martyred and four others injured after heavily armed terrorists launched a bomb and gun attack on a Rangers camp in Karachi’s Gulistan-i-Jauhar area on Sunday, prompting a fierce gun battle, the military said.
According to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the attack targeted the Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) Camp in Gulistan-i-Jauhar’s Block 5 and was carried out by militants belonging to Jamaatul Ahrar, which it described as an “Indian proxy”.
The military said the attackers first detonated a vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VB-IED) at the camp’s main gate before attempting to storm the compound while opening indiscriminate fire.
“The assailants, after a blast at the main gate of the camp, attempted to breach the perimeter security. However, their nefarious designs were decisively foiled by the vigilant and resolute response of Rangers troops,” the ISPR said.
Security forces engaged the attackers in an intense exchange of fire, killing three militants and capturing a fourth in an injured condition. The military identified the arrested attacker as an Afghan national.
During the operation, three Rangers personnel embraced martyrdom while defending the installation, while four others sustained injuries.
The military said sanitisation operations were continuing in the area to eliminate any remaining militants, adding that Pakistan would undertake retribution operations against those responsible for the attack.
“Pakistan shall undertake retribution operations against the perpetrators of this attack to avenge the martyrdom of its soldiers,” the ISPR said, reaffirming that the country’s counterterrorism campaign under Operation Ghazab lil-Haq would continue with full force to eliminate foreign-sponsored terrorism.
Eyewitnesses described scenes of panic following the powerful explosion, which was heard across the neighbourhood near several universities and the Pakistan Meteorological Department.
Mohammad Bakhsh, who was offering prayers at a nearby mosque when the blast occurred, said the explosion shook the ground like an earthquake.
“When we came out there was smoke everywhere, then the gunfire started,” he said, adding that the exchange of fire continued for about 15 minutes.
Following the attack, heavy contingents of Rangers and police rushed to the area, cordoning off the surroundings as emergency responders shifted the injured. Authorities closed major roads from Mosamiyat to the Rangers camp while a clearance operation remained underway.
Sindh Inspector General of Police Javed Alam Odho confirmed that a fierce gun battle followed after the explosive-laden vehicle rammed into the camp’s main gate.
Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir expressed profound grief over the martyrdom of the Rangers personnel, extending condolences to their families.
“These sacrifices further reinforce our unwavering commitment to safeguarding our nation at all costs,” the military quoted him as saying.
President Asif Ali Zardari strongly condemned the attack and paid tribute to the martyred Rangers personnel, saying the nation would never forget the sacrifices of its brave soldiers in the fight against terrorism.
He said the designs of externally backed terrorist elements would never succeed and reaffirmed that the people of Pakistan stood shoulder to shoulder with the country’s security forces and law enforcement agencies against terrorism.
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