KARACHI: In a fourth attack on the paramilitary force in the city within eight days, attackers hurled a cracker at the Rangers checkpoint in Korangi 2½ on Monday afternoon.

While the structure of the checkpoint and soldiers remained safe in the attack, the blast triggered fear and panic as paramilitary soldiers fired over half a dozen shots when they chased the attackers.

Police claimed to have obtained sufficient clues from witnesses and expressed the hope that the attackers would be arrested soon.

The attack was carried out by motorcycle riders at around 1:50pm, said Landhi SP Afnan Amin. He said the boundary wall of the checkpoint was slightly damaged in the explosion.

“It was a highly congested area occupied by all sorts of encroachment,” the officer said.

He added that two of the four Rangers personnel posted there chased the fleeing suspects and fired seven shots at them but they escaped.

“However, we have got sufficient clues from witnesses and hope that the assailants would be taken to task soon,” he said.

An official of the bomb disposal squad, Sabir Durrani, told Dawn that it was a cracker that weighed around 100 grams.

It was the fourth such attack on the paramilitary force during the past week.

Earlier on March 18, three Rangers soldiers and a passer-by were wounded in an attack on their checkpoint in the Korangi Crossing area.

The BDS official said Monday’s incident was different from the previous one in the Korangi area. Earlier, an improvised explosive device (IED) was used to damage the structure of the checkpoint and cause injuries to three Rangers personnel, he added.

In the twin attacks on March 13, two Rangers checkpoints near Esa Nagri and Moti Mahal in Karachi East district were targeted by motorcyclists with IEDs.

The Rangers authorities believed that three groups were allegedly involved in the recent attacks on the Rangers and police in the metropolis.

“These groups consist of [militants] belonging to ethnic, political and banned outfits,” according to the director general of the Pakistan Rangers, Sindh, who had stated this after visiting the damaged checkpoint in Korangi on Friday.

He had also announced that four suspected attackers had been detained by the Rangers and police.

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim Ali condemned the cracker attack on the Rangers checkpoint and ordered the Sindh police chief to ensure early arrest of the culprits involved in such incidents, according to a spokesperson for CM House.

Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2016