According to the suspects, they are trying to establish a network to carry out attacks against security forces and key sites in the city
Sindh Anti-Terrorism Department arrests two men affiliated with banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA). PHOTO: CTD
KARACHI:
The Sindh Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) on Tuesday said it had foiled a terror plot in Karachi after arresting two men it said were affiliated with the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), according to a CTD statement.
The CTD said the suspects, identified as Mujahid Baloch and Fareed Baloch, also known as Zakir Bin, were arrested during an intelligence-based operation (IBO). The document states that the two men received training in BLA camps, including reconnaissance and communications, and that they operated in Karachi on the instructions of commanders Sajid Baloch and Basheer Zeb.
According to the CTD, “the suspects were gathering information on sensitive facilities and attempting to establish a network to carry out attacks against security forces and other key sites in the city.”
Officials said, “They recovered 4 kg of explosives, detonators, primacord and ball bearings during the operation.” A case has been registered under the Explosive Substances Act and the Anti-Terrorism Act, while further investigations are underway.
“Additional teams, working alongside other security agencies, have been formed to continue the investigation and carry out further operations based on information obtained from the suspects,” the CTD concluded.
Read: Nine policemen, including two SHOs, martyred in Balochistan terror attack
The arrests come just over a week after one of the deadliest attacks on Pakistan Rangers in recent years in Karachi. On June 27, three members of the Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) were killed and four others injured after security forces foiled an attack on a Rangers camp in Karachi. The military’s media wing, the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said the assault was carried out by Khawarij belonging to the Indian agent Jamaat-ul-Ahrar.
Police said a suicide bomber detonated explosives at the main entrance to the camp before three armed men entered the premises, shooting indiscriminately and throwing hand grenades. Security forces shot dead two of the attackers, while the third was injured and arrested alive. Police identified him as Usman alias Ali and said a submachine gun, ammunition and a hand grenade were recovered from him.
Investigators said the suspect told them he was from Jalalabad, Afghanistan. He also claimed that two of the other attackers were Afghan nationals, while the third was a Pakistani from Bajaur who had long links to a militant organization in Afghanistan and had arrived in Karachi a week before the attack.
