KARACHI, May 18: At least nine people, including a worker of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and two policemen, were killed on Friday as the renewed wave of drive-by shootings continued in different parts of the city on a fourth consecutive day.

Over the past three days, 20 people, including seven MQM workers, had been gunned down in targeted attacks in various localities of the metropolis.

On Friday, an MQM activist was shot dead shortly after he offered prayers at Usman mosque in Shah Faisal Colony, police said.

Imran, 26, son of Mukhtiar, was standing near the mosque, situated close to his home in Street 4, Shah Faisal Mohalla, when he was killed in a drive-by shooting, said an official at the Shah Faisal police station.

The gunmen were riding a motorbike, he said, adding that they sped away after opening fire on the victim. Imran sustained three gunshot wounds and died on the spot, said the official.

For a post-mortem examination, the police shifted his body to the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, where a large number of MQM workers reached after learning about the murder.

Shah Faisal Colony SHO Sarfaraz Gondal said the victim was an active member of the MQM’s Unit 108.

The news of the killing sparked tension in Shah Faisal Colony, where traders pulled down shutters of markets.

Imran was eighth MQM activist gunned down in a targeted attack in the city over the past three days.

Police attacked

Earlier, two policemen were killed and an officer was wounded in firing in Baldia in the early hours of Friday.

The police officials were conducting random spot checks on vehicles in Khyber Chowk, Ittehad Town, when three men riding two motorbikes fired at them and fled, said SSP West Amir Farooqui.

Police constables Mohammad Khan and Arif Khan died on the spot, while ASI was wounded in the firing, the SSP said.

The police shifted the bodies and the injured ASI to the Civil Hospital Karachi.

Both constables were posted at the Mochko police station.

The gunmen also took away two AK-47 rifles of the policemen, said SDPO Abdul Haq Bhutto.

Following the attack, police carried out a search operation in different parts of Baldia and rounded up several suspects, he said.

Two brothers killed

Two brothers were shot dead a few hours after being kidnapped in Anjum Colony, Jam Nagar, said a duty officer at the Baldia police station.

He added that Murshid, 25, and Basheer, sons of Ameer Bakhsh, were residents of Sector 5½, Baldia Town.

SHO Aslam Jadoon said the victims were barber and were kidnapped while they were on their way to home from the shop.

The bodies were found dumped on a roadside a few hours later, he said, adding that each victim had sustained a gunshot wound to his head.

They hailed from Bhawalpur, he said. Police suspected personal enmity as a possible motive for the killing.

The bodies were shifted to Civil Hospital Karachi for medico-legal formalities and later handed over to the victim’s elder brother, Ghulam Mohammad. The police registered an FIR (81/2012) against unidentified men on a complaint of Ghulam Mohammad.

Gunny bag found

At around 2am, a gunny bag containing the body of a man was found in the Timber Market area near Sindhi Hotel, said an official at the Liaquatabad police station.

The victim had been trussed up, said DSP Wajahat Hussain, adding that he had sustained a single gunshot wound to his head.

The body was shifted to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for a post-mortem examination and later moved to the Edhi morgue for want of identification.

The police registered an FIR (77/2012) against unidentified men on behalf of the state.

Drive shot dead

A pick-up driver was shot dead near Lyari Expressway within the remit of the Shershah police station.

Ghulam Khan, 26, son of Bakht Mir, was standing with a friend near the rickshaw and truck stand when armed men riding a motorcycle shot at him and fled.

He sustained two bullet wounds and died on the spot, the police said.

They added that the victim was a resident of the area around New Sabzi Mandi and originally hailed from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The police quoted another friend of his as saying that the victim was facing a tribal enmity. The body was shifted to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for medico-legal formalities and later handed over to the family of the victim.

An FIR (146/2012) was lodged at the Shershah police station against unidentified men on a complaint of the victim’s brother, Ibrahim.

Teenager killed

In another drive-by shooting, 19-year-old Usman was killed near his home in Hassan Noman Colony within the remit of the Sohrab Goth police station.

The body was shifted to the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for medico-legal formalities.

The police later registered an FIR (77/2012) on a complaint of the victim’s father, Nawaz Khan.

Young man shot dead

A young man was found shot dead in Sector 16-B of Shah Latif Town, police said.

Identified with the help of an identity card as Sabir Ali, 25, son of Faizullah, the victim was a resident of Charsada, said Shah Latif SHO Sajjad Hyder.

He added that the victim sustained three gunshot wounds.

The body was shifted to the JPMC for medico-legal formalities and later moved to Edhi morgue as the victim’s family could not be traced.