KARACHI: Three more policemen were killed in a gun attack on Tuesday in the city where more than 100 policemen have already been killed since September 2013 when the government launched the Rangers-led Karachi operation that has yet to establish an abiding peace here.

The killings of the policemen took place in the Manghopir area not far from the place where only a few days ago the police and Rangers had killed seven suspected militants in a joint operation, putting a question mark over the effectiveness of the operation of the law-enforcement agencies.

The police personnel frequently come under attacks in this particular area soon after the LEAs claim to have “cleared it of militants”.

Hours after the killing of policemen, two ‘Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan militants’ were gunned down by law enforcement agencies in ‘encounters’ in Manghopir.

The police said that four policemen were carrying out random spot checks on people on the main Manghopir Road outside Mianwali Colony when six to eight gunmen riding three motorcycles appeared there and opened fire on them. The four policemen and a passer-by were wounded in the firing. The armed motorcyclists took away four official rifles of the policemen.

Shortly after the killing of policemen, two ‘TTP militants’ were gunned down by law enforcement agencies in the same locality

The victims were taken to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, where doctors pronounced the three policemen — Soomar, 35; Ghulam Ali, 35; and Munawar Ali, 40 — dead on arrival while 35-year-old policeman Ali Nawaz and passer-by Shahid were admitted for treatment.

The policemen were posted at the Pirabad police station and they lived in the official quarters attached with the police station.

Shortly after the attack, the police and Rangers launched a targeted operation in Manghopir during which some suspects were taken into custody for questioning, said SSP West Irfan Baloch.

“Apparently, the murder of the three policemen is a reaction by militants to the killing of seven Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan militants in the targeted operation in Manghopir recently,” the SSP added.

He said that eight policemen had been targeted by militants in recent raids on hideouts of the banned militant outfit in Manghopir and Orangi Town.

On June 20, five TTP suspects were killed in Manghopir in a joint operation while two more militants were killed later, the SSP added.

‘Encounters’

Two ‘TTP militants’ were gunned down in ‘encounters’ hours after killing of three policemen in Manghopir on Tuesday, the police claimed.

The LEAs conducted a targeted operation in Kunwari Colony in Manghopir, where they came under an attack by suspected militants and in ‘retaliatory fire’ a suspect was shot dead, said West SSP Irfan Baloch.

He claimed that the deceased belonged to the TTP and a Kalashnikov was recovered from his possession, while 16 suspects were detained from the area for questioning.

In another incident, a suspected militant was shot dead in Musharraf Colony on Tuesday, City SSP Sheraz Nazeer said.

The paramilitary force conducted a targeted action in the colony and killed alleged TTP militant identified as Hafiz Meraj. The police officer added that a search operation by the police and Rangers was carried out in the locality.

Published in Dawn, June 25th, 2014