Karachi: Unidentified heavily armed terrorists stormed the Karachi police chief’s office in Pakistan’s most populous city on Friday, triggering a heavy gunfight between paramilitary rangers, police and the assailants, amid a surge in terrorist attacks across the country. There was a fresh attack on the forces. A Karachi police spokesperson confirmed in a statement that the Karachi police chief’s headquarters had been attacked.
“The firing is continuing,” the statement said. Karachi’s police chief Javed Odho also confirmed in a tweet that his office had come under attack, but said security forces had responded strongly. According to sources, the number of terrorists involved in the attack has not been confirmed.
The terrorists first hurled half a dozen hand grenades at the main premises of the Karachi police chief’s office building and then entered the premises. A police source said, “Heavy exchange of fire is going on between the paramilitary rangers, police and the assailants. All the mobile vans of the district and area have been immediately called to the spot to engage the assailants.”
The Karachi Police Chief’s office is located near the main arterial road of Karachi that leads from the city to the airport. No group has yet claimed the attack. Pakistan has seen an increase in terrorist attacks since November, when the Pakistani Taliban ended a month-long ceasefire with the government.
Last month, a Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up at a mosque packed with worshipers during afternoon prayers in a high-security area in Pakistan’s restive northwestern Peshawar city, killing more than 100 people. Most of whom were policemen.