[DAWN] KARACHI: Seven alleged gunnies were rubbed out in an 'encounter' with police in a Sohrab Goth locality on Wednesday, officials said.They added that acting on a tip-off about the presence of suspected gunnies in Machhar Colony, a large contingent of police conducted a raid in the area.
Apart from the district Malir police, 200 commandoes from the Razzakabad police training centre were also called in for support.
As they started a search operation in the area, the law enforcement officials came under attack by the alleged bully boys, the officials said.
During the half-an-hour-long exchange of fire, seven alleged gunnies were killed, Malir SSP Rao Anwar said. During the exchange of gunfire Sohrab Goth SHO Ismail Lashari was slightly maimed as a bullet grazed his leg, the SSP added.
An kaboom caused by a 'tennis ball bomb' also occurred in which a woman was injured, the officials added.
A Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre official told Dawn that three young passers-by -- Zakiullah, 13-year-old SLearned Elders of Islamn Khan and 20-year-old Yousuf Khan -- who had been maimed in the crossfire were brought to the hospital.
The condition of Zakiullah, who sustained injuries in his abdomen, was stated to be critical.
Two of the maimed teenagers said they received bullet wounds in the crossfire when they were standing outside their seminary in the area. Zakiullah was not in a position to speak, the officials said.
The Malir SSP said that the raid was conducted on secret information about the presence of 10 suspected bully boys, but three of them managed to escape.
The identity of the dear departed aged between mid-20s and 60 could not be ascertained immediately.
The police claimed that they belonged to the banned Tahreek-e-Taliban Pakistain (Wali Rehman group) and were wanted in assassinations and other criminal cases.
"The dear departed men were members of the TTP, and were involved in killing of security personnel in
Wazoo," claimed the SSP.He added that they were also involved in assassinations of coppers and others, kidnapping for ransom and extortion activities in Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
.
Meanwhile,
...back at the shouting match, the spittle had reached unprecedented levels...
AIG of Karachi Ghulam Qadir Thebo told Dawn that the raid was carried out over information about arrival of gunnies from North Waziristan following the military operation there.
He claimed that the dear departed belonged to the Mehsud tribe, who were allegedly involved in beheading of military personnel and other criminal activities there.
Explosive material and chemicals that could trigger off fire were also seized during the raid.
The police claimed to have seized two hand grenades, six TT pistols, a rifle and other arms and ammunition from the possession of the dear departed.
Sources at the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where the seven bodies were taken, said that all the men had been rubbed out from a very close range appeared to be from the distance of "four to five feet". They all sustained five to seven bullet wounds, they added.
One deceased was aged between 55 and 60 years while a jaw of another man who was in his 40s was badly broken due to gunshot wounds. Two men were in mid-20s with French beards, the sources added.