KARACHI, Nov 14: The crime investigation department on Thursday killed half a dozen suspects of a banned militant outfit in what the police claimed as an encounter in Mauripur, foiling a perceived terror attack on the main Ashura procession in the city.

The dead included the mastermind of the bomb attack on Sindh High Court Chief Justice Maqbool Baqar, a CID official said.

The police acted on information about the presence of the Lashkar-i-Jhangvi suspects, who were allegedly planning attacks on main Muharram procession and a prominent Imambargah, in Mauripur, said SP of the CID Anti-Extremism Cell Mohammad Aslam Khan, better known as Chaudhry Aslam, while speaking at a press conference at his office.

He said the police party raided the hideout in the Lucky Hills area of Mauripur. The suspects opened fire on the police party, with the result that at least three policemen sustained gunshot wounds. As the police retaliated, the six suspects were wounded and arrested. They were rushed to the Civil Hospital Karachi where they died during treatment, SP Aslam said.

“They were planning a gun-cum-suicide attack on Hussainia-Iranian Imambargah in Kharadar during Ashura,” the officer said.

He added that one of the dead, Gul Hasan, was chief of the banned LJ in Karachi who was allegedly involved in several sectarian killings in the metropolis.

He said that the 36-year-old militant was the mastermind of the judge’s convoy attack and was wanted by the police in this case. He was also allegedly involved in the Hyderi mosque bomb blast, Imambargah Ali Raza blast and firing on a Suparco bus, he added.

The officer said other suspects were involved in over 50 sectarian killings and other terror attacks in Karachi.

These cases included the murder of Shia lawyer Saqlain Hyder and his two sons Aun Abbas and Mohammed Abbas, two Shia brothers Jamal Zafar and Hyder Latif and journalist Syed Shah.

All the militants were wanted by the CID police in these cases, he added.

Suicide jackets, arms seized

The police officer said two suicide jackets, four Kalashnikovs, two 9mm pistols and a huge quantity of ammunition were recovered from the custody of the suspected militants.

“The deceased terrorists were planning a suicide attack on main Muharram procession and Imambargah Hussanian-Iranian Kharadar during Ashura and recovered suicide jackets (in ready condition) and weapons were supposed to be used for further their nefarious designs,” the SP CID believed.

He said that the Sindh home department through a letter (SO (LE-II)/HD/9-1/2013) issued on Nov 8, 2013 had given advance information about possible terror acts allegedly to be carried out by the deceased suspects during Muharram.

Controversy

While the police claimed that all the six wounded were taken to the Civil Hospital Karachi where they died during treatment, hospital officials said that they received five bodies and a wounded man who later died during treatment.

All the bodies sustained multiple bullet wounds, the hospital officials added.

“The police brought the wounded and the dead at the hospital at around 4am,” said senior medico-legal official Dr Nisar Shah.

Besides Gul Hasan, the MLO said, four other suspects whose bodies were brought to the hospital’s mortuary were identified as Maqbool Ahmed alias Ban, Mohammed Arif, 23, Naveed Ayub, 29, and Naveed Baloch, 26.

The CID police identified the sixth deceased suspect as Abdul Khaliq alias Shahji.Meanwhile, DG Rangers Maj Gen Rizwan Akhtar visited the Imambargahs targeted in the Wednesday night bomb attacks and also met the wounded victims.