KARACHI, Sept 1: Three people were killed when they were caught in the crossfire between Rangers and criminals in a Landhi locality on Saturday, officials said.

They said that two paramilitary soldiers also wounded.

They said a heavy contingent of Rangers cordoned off Muslimabad — a low-income neighbourhood in Landhi Town — to carry out raids on two ‘known gambling and drug dens’.

The area police said that they were not informed about any operation by the Rangers and they did not take part in it.

“There are two known dens being run by suspects Nawaz Khan and Sar Zameen Khan in the area,” said Inspector Amanullah Marwat, the SHO of the Quaidabad police station.

“We were not aware of the entire operation but we are sure that the victims are all area residents and fell prey to the crossfire between the Rangers and the armed criminals.”

He said the paramilitary soldiers came under an armed attack as they tried to enter the area, which sparked firing from both sides.

As a result 35-year-old Abdul Rasheed, a 40-year-old woman, Guldara, and an unidentified man, in his late-40s, sustained bullet wounds and died, he said, adding that the victims were passers-by and residents of the same area.

Though there was no official word from the Sindh Rangers about the number of arrests made after the raid, the police said nearly a dozen suspects were detained by the paramilitary force.

The police said that the suspects were in the custody of the Rangers and they could be in a position to share details after questioning them.

“We have not been given the custody of any suspect. Once the details are shared by the Rangers, cases would be registered that would obviously include the killing of three people,” said the area SHO.

However, a Rangers spokesman declined to comment.