Police assert that the two KPO raid "masterminds" were killed

 KARACHI: On Monday, police claimed to have killed two of the "masterminds" behind last month's fatal attack on the Karachi Police Office (KPO), while two other suspects connected to the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) were detained following a "encounter" on the outskirts of the city.

The Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), federal intelligence agencies, and other LEAs formed a joint special team in order to eliminate the network responsible for the KPO attack. This team was successful in tracing this network to the bordering region between Hub, Balochistan, where they were hiding, according to Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon, who was flanked by senior officials of the CTD.

The minister stated, "This network had given assistance, planning, and reconnaissance to the KPO terrorists.

On Sunday night, information was sent to the CTD and other security agencies suggesting that members of this network would travel through Hub's "muddy roads" to reach Karachi.

About three in the morning on Monday, a CTD team that had previously been stationed there signalled to four suspects on two motorcycles to stop. Instead of halting, the suspects started fire, which resulted in a gunfight in which two terrorists were killed and two more were captured. They were found with a suicide jacket, which the BDS neutralised.

Aryadullah alias Hasan and Waheedullah alias Khalid alias Huzaifa were the militants who were slain.

The minister stated that both extremists who were murdered were responsible for planning the KPO attack. Abdul Aziz alias Mohammad Ali and Mehran alias Meharban were the names of the suspects who were being detained.

The militants who were murdered by the government were from the Ahsanabad neighbourhood of Karachi, while those who were detained were from the Gulshan-i-Hadeed and Shah Latif Town neighbourhoods of the same city. After the event, they had escaped to Balochistan.

According to the detained suspects, they belonged to the outlawed TTP, along with the accomplices they killed, said Mr. Memon.

The three suicide bombers had travelled to Karachi by bus a week before the assault and had stayed at the residence of the assassinated terrorist Waheed in Ahsanabad. Suicide vests, rifles, and other weaponry were transported by truck from the Tank region of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to Karachi.

The information minister asserted that the terrorists who were dead and in custody were travelling to Karachi to commit yet another act of terrorism because, in his opinion, they failed to accomplish their goals during the KPO raid.

Although the provincial administration occasionally came under harsh criticism, according to Sharjeel Memon, the CTD and intelligence agencies have collaboratively tracked down all significant terror attacks in Sindh, notably Karachi.

In response to a barrage of inquiries, the minister revealed that Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has formed a committee to investigate any potential police incompetence during the KPO incident.

The KP government, in particular, was responsible for keeping a watch on such vehicles and militants, he added, adding that it was not practicable to inspect the thousands of trucks and buses that arrived in Karachi from other areas of the nation.

He stated that the province administration intended to put scanners at Sindh's entry and departure ports.

Mr. Memon accused the previous prime minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, of giving "moral support" to TTP extremists.

In response to a query, CTD officer Raja Umar Khattab stated that none of the three assailants of the KPO who were murdered were Baloch militants. Two of them, according to him, were recognised as KP residents, while the third was yet unidentified.His identity could only be determined by DNA testing, despite going by the code name "Yasir". He was most likely an Afghan, according to the CTD representative.

Both men's autopsies were performed at Dr. Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital in Karachi.