Police said due to cross firing between two armed groups at least 12 people were killed including 40-year-old Murtuza s/o Ataullah in Malir Khokarapar, 40-year-old Jamshed Iqbal in Madina Colony, 30-year-old Akram in Saudia Colony, 35-year-old Nawaz s/o Khalid, 30-year-old Nadeem s/o Islamuddin, 32-year-old Niaz s/o Sharif in the limits of Malir City and Khokarapar police stations.
In the jurisdiction of Malir City police station 35-year-old Akber s/o Rifat Jameel was killed by unidentified armed men at Gharibabad area. In another firing incident in the area, 40-year-old Naseer Ahmed s/o Abdul Hameed was also killed at Jinnah Square, while 30-year-old Khalid s/o Anwar was gunned down at Goonga Goth, Gharibabad.
In other firing incidents 24-year-old Ikram s/o Wahid Khan was killed in Landhi-89 area, in the limits of Landhi police station, while 30-year-old Mustaqeem s/o Toor Khan and 40-year-old Iqbal alias Nadeem s/o Ibrahim were gunned down in Bengali Para in the limits of Quaidabad police station. Police said a hand grenade was also thrown in the area.
At least 25 persons were injured in firing incidents. They included 30-year-old Sabir s/o Rafiq, 25-year-old Hamid s/o Kaif, 31-year-old Rafiq s/o Shabbir, Kashif, Waseem, Akram, Salman, Adnan, Nabi Khan, Dr. Afzal, Ahsan, Hamid Husain, Adam, Mazhar, Saima, Fehmida, Dilshad, Shabnam, eight-year-old Gazal, 30-year-old Shahid and 32-year-old Mohammad Sabir also got injured in different parts of Malir and Landhi areas.
The bodies and injured were taken to different hospitals of the city including Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK) and Sindh Government Hospital Malir.
On the directives of Home Minister Manzoor Wassan, Rangers and police personnel increased patrolling in the area.
The firing was continuing in the affected areas and all markets and bazaars closed when this report was filed.
Copyright PPI (Pakistan Press International), 2011