KARACHI, Dec 18: Two policemen were killed and three employees of the General Post Office Korangi were wounded in an ambush on Tuesday morning.

Police said an official vehicle (CR-6772) left the Kornagi GPO with over Rs2,300,000 for disbursement to different post offices and also to deposit some amount in a bank branch.

Landhi SP Azad Khan, quoting GPO officials, said it was their daily routine and on Tuesday the cash was much less than usual.

Two policemen, constable Naeemul Hasan, 28, and Zamir Husain, 42, of the Police Headquarters were permanently posted for guarding the transport of cash.

Besides them, three employees of the GPO, Tufail, Mohammad Husain and Qadeer, the driver, were in the vehicle.

As the GPO Hi-roof vehicle drove from the GPO at 11.05am and after covering a distance of about one kilometre reached near Bilal Chowrangi, a Shehzore truck (KM-7164) rammed it. Five attackers leaped off the truck and opened intense fire on the two policemen.

After killing the two policemen and wounding the three employees, one of the bandits dashed into the Hi-roof. He fired a gunshot and broke open the lock of the wooden box containing the cash and made off with the booty.

They abandoned the truck on the spot and fled in a waiting car and on two motorcycles, police said.

The attackers also took away the two official AK-47s of the policemen.

SP Azad Khan said the truck (KM-7164) used in the ambush was snatched in the limits of the Joharabad police station at around 3:30am. The bodies of the two policemen were sent to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre for legal formalities and the wounded were also rushed to the same hospital for treatment.

The funeral prayer of Constable Naeemul Hasan was held at the Husaini Imambargah and that of Zamir Husain will be offered on Wednesday after Zuhar prayer. His family members are coming here from Rawalpindi to attend his burial.

Constable Naeem leaves a daughter, while Zamir Husain is survived by three sons and a daughter.

Police are looking for the owner of the tuck or the person who was driving the vehicle at the time of snatching to draw sketches of the suspects.

Similarly, sketches are being prepared with the help of three employees of the GPO who were wounded in the shooting.

An FIR about the robbery and murders has been registered at the Korangi police station.