Eight killed in car bomb blast
Source: gulfnews
Attack targets head of Karachi's crime investigation department
Islamabad: A massive suicide car bomb attack yesterday in Pakistan's
violence-plagued port city of Karachi, targeting the house of a senior
police officer, killed eight people including six policemen and two
civilians, police said.
The bomber rammed his explosive-laden double cabin vehicle into the
gate of Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Chaudhry Aslam's house
located in the seaside Defence Housing Authority area, a high security
zone, said provincial police chief Wajid Ali Durrani.
The outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) reportedly claimed
responsibility for the blast. Aslam, head of the Crime Investigation
Department (CID), survived unhurt but some family members received minor
injuries.
Nearby buildings and vehicles in the area were severely damaged by
the explosion in which, according to Durrani, more than 300 kilograms of
explosive was used.
The six policemen killed in the attack were assigned to guard the
officer and his home. The two civilian victims were a teacher and her
five-year-old son, who were on their way to a school in the area.
Aslam, speaking to media representatives outside his battered home,
said he had been receiving threats from the TTP because of his
investigation focusing on militant cells in the biggest Pakistani city,
which has an 18-million population with its port being an entrance for
Nato supplies going to Afghanistan by land.
The officer said he was woken by the explosion, adding his family members were safe but shaken.
‘Cowardly act'
"This cowardly act of the Taliban has not scared me," he said, vowing
he would continue his anti-militant task with greater zeal and resolve.
"I will teach them a lesson that their generations will remember," he
said.
Local and foreign media quoted TTP spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan as
saying by phone from his secret location that Aslam and several other
police officers were on their hit list.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani
denounced the attack and expressed anguish over the loss of lives. In
separate statements they asserted that such "cowardly acts" would not
deter the government from continuing its campaign to root out terrorism
and militancy.
The provincial government in Sindh province, of which Karachi is the
capital, said it would pay compensation to the bereaved families.
The blast shattered a relative calm in Karachi following a new
crackdown on criminals launched by paramilitary Rangers and police late
last month
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