Says suspects are trying to establish networks to carry out attacks against security forces, key locations in the city
The Sindh Counter Terrorism Department arrests two men associated with the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA). PHOTO: CTD
KARACHI:
The Sindh Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) said on Tuesday it foiled a terror plot in Karachi after arresting two men it said are associated with the outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), according to a CTD statement.
The CTD said the suspects, identified as Mujahid Baloch and Fareed Baloch, also known as Zakir Bin, were detained during an Intelligence Based Operation (IBO). The release said the pair had received training in BLA camps, including in reconnaissance and communications, and had been operating in Karachi on instructions from commanders Sajid Baloch and Basheer Zeb.
According to the CTD, “the suspects had collected information on sensitive installations and were trying to establish a network to carry out attacks against security forces and other key locations in the city”.
Officials said: “They recovered 4 kg of explosives, detonators, prima cord and ball bearings during the operation”. A case was registered under the Explosive Substances Act and the Anti-Terrorism Act, while further investigations are underway.
“Additional teams working with other security agencies had been formed to continue the investigation and carry out further operations based on information obtained from the suspects,” the CTD concluded.
Read: Nine police officers, including two SHOs, were martyred during the terror attack in Balochistan
The arrests come just over a week after one of the deadliest attacks on Pakistan Rangers in recent years in Karachi. On 27 June, three Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) personnel were killed and four others injured after security forces foiled an attack on a Rangers camp in Karachi. The military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said the attack was carried out by Khawarij belonging to the Indian agent Jamaat-ul-Ahrar.
According to police, a suicide bomber detonated explosives at the camp’s main gate before three gunmen entered the premises, firing indiscriminately and throwing hand grenades. Security personnel shot two of the attackers, while the third was wounded and arrested alive. Police identified him as Usman alias Ali and said a machine gun, ammunition and a hand grenade were recovered from him.
Investigators said the suspect told them he was from Jalalabad, Afghanistan. He also claimed that two of the other attackers were Afghan nationals, while the third was a Pakistani from Bajaur, who had long been associated with a militant organization in Afghanistan and had arrived in Karachi a week before the attack.
