KARACHI: A bomb and gun attack on a Sindh Rangers facility in Karachi martyred three paramilitary troops and injured four on Saturday, military said, as the country battles a surge in violence.
Militants from the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a faction of the Pakistani Taliban, detonated an explosive at the entrance of the Rangers camp in Gulistan-i-Jauhar neighbourhood before opening fire on the troops, the military said in a statement.
Witnesses said they heard a loud blast followed by gunfire along a major road near several universities and Pakistan’s meteorological department.
Mohammad Bakhsh said he was praying at a nearby mosque when he heard the explosion.
“The ground felt like it does when there is an earthquake,” the 40-year-old who runs a restaurant in the area said.
“When we came out there was smoke everywhere … then the gunfire started,” he said, adding the firing went on for around 15 minutes.
The military said three militants were killed in the exchange of fire, while a fourth, an Afghan national, was captured.
“Pakistan shall undertake retribution operations against the perpetrators of this attack,” it said. The attack could spark fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan and prompt Islamabad to launch more airstrikes on its neighbour.
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