Terrorism-related Incidents in Karachi - 2010

Date

Incident

January 1

The Police recovered a bomb from a local video shop in the Shadman Town area under Sharea Noor Jehan Police Station of Karachi. The BDS said it was a remote controlled bomb. They said that the militants used C-4 explosives. The SHO of Sharea Noor Jehan Police Station, Amjad Kiyani, said that it was January 1 afternoon when they received a call from Shadman Town No 2 area in which the caller told the Police that a suspicious bag was lying a short distance from a video shop situated under Crown Plaza on the roadside. A patrolling mobile along with the BDS personnel immediately rushed to the place and evacuated the building, houses and shops and carried out an operation. The BDS personnel after an hour managed to defuse the bomb.

January 4

The investigation team, investigating the Ashura blast in Karachi that the blast was not suicide attack. The bomb was planted inside a box that had the portrait of a killed leader of a banned religious outfit. In the afternoon, Interior Minister Rehman Malik also confirmed the fact that the Ashura blast was not a suicide attack. He said that a complete report would be submitted within two to three days.

January 5

An Ahmadi leader Muhammad Yousaf (70) was shot dead allegedly for seeking Police protection against sectarian zealots in Ferozewala Police Station area of Karachi. The family of Muhammad Yousaf, leader of the Ahmadi community in Ferozewala, alleged that unidentified persons killed him for demanding Police to stop them from creating religious strife in the area. Fatehul Deen, the son of the deceased, said that two unidentified persons on a motorbike opened fire at his father around 8 am (PST) when he was sitting at his general store, where he (Fateh) and his brother were also present. He said his father died instantly while he and his brother narrowly escaped the attack. Ferozewala Police Station SHO Muhammad Munir said that Police had registered the FIR against unidentified persons for Yousaf’s murder.

One person, identified as Sajid (25), who had sustained injuries in the Ashura procession on M.A. Jinnah Road in Karachi on December 28, 2009, passed away at the hospital. This brings the death toll of blast victims to 45.

January 8

Six persons, including one civilian killed in an explosion in a house near Babri mosque in Baldia town locality of Karachi in the morning. An initial investigation stated that six militants had come to the house at about 3 am (PST) on three motorcycles. They were guests of Ayaz, younger brother of Riaz who was living in the house with his mother, wife and three children. All the militants were in their late teens or early twenties. Five of the dead militants were identified as Riazul Hasan, Mohammad Husain, Shahbaz Lahori, Asif and Zahid. Ayaz was also killed in the blast, while his brother Ibrar was injured. A portion of a house was destroyed in what was described as an accidental blast. "We heard a loud bang at about 7:45am and saw two bodies lying in the debris. A Kalashnikov rifle was beside the bodies," an eyewitness said. Police found a cache of arms and ammunition and suicide vests strapped to the two bodies in the house. The suicide vests were fitted with grenades, they added. The suicide vest of the third militant accidentally triggered the explosion, causing a grenade to explode, investigators said. Police recovered several cartons of tinned food, jihadi literature, books and CDs, stickers of LeJ and SSP pasted inside a trunk containing certifications of graduation from a seminary, cell phones and several SIMs from the debris of the house. Three AK-47 rifles with several dozen rounds, over 25 hand grenades, anti-personnel mines and a pistol were also recovered, Baldia town Superintendent of Police Zahid Husain said. Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that the militants were from Swat.

5

January 10

A bomb hoaxes created panic among the employees of Jang Group and the Wapda House for over three hours in Karachi on January 10. Some unknown caller, from his cell number 0322-4173846, called at the exchange of the Jang Office situated on 13-Davis Road of Karachi at around 10:15 pm (PST). The caller asked the operator to recite ‘Kalima’ on the plea that a bomb had been planted in the Jang building, which would explode within 20 minutes. Police and bomb disposal squad reached the spot within minutes and vacated the buildings of Geo, The News and Jang. The search operation continued for over two hours, which created severe panic among the staff of the Jang Group. However, the building was cleared by the squad. Police said the same caller had also created panic at Wapda House at around 9.15 pm after which the building was evacuated for thorough search.

6

January 11

Police arrested a key TTP ‘commander’, Hayatullah alias Humayun, from a house in Baloch Goth in Orangi Town area of Karachi. Police sources said Hayatullah alias Humayun was on the 181 position in the list of the most wanted militants in the country. Senior Superintendent of Police Raja Umar Khatab said the ‘commander’ had confessed that four of his accomplices, Abdul Shakoor, Mehboob Ali, Abdul Waheed and Abdul Wahab were hiding in the city.

7

January 13

The CID of Sindh Police arrested one TTP ‘commander’ during a raid in the Manghopir area of Karachi. Official sources said, Ali Rehman was arrested from his hideout in the Pakhtoonabad area in Manghopir and one TT pistol was recovered from his possession. CID official Haji Nadeem said Rehman was a TTP ‘commander’ for the Mohmand Agency. His other associates are also present in the city, he added.

At least 25 persons were killed and over 100 others, including women and children, wounded in twin blasts in Karachi as the city marked Hazrat Imam Hussain's chehlum (40^th Day after death) ceremony. The sources said that the first explosion occurred at around 3:03pm (PST) in the Shahrah-e-Faisal area of Karachi targeting a bus taking 30-40 mourners to the city's main chehlum procession at Nishtar Park. The second explosion took place at around 4:55pm at Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre, where those injured or killed in the first explosion were being taken amid a crowd of victims' relatives and the media. The blast at the medical centre targeted the building's parking lot in front of the emergency ward.

Death toll in the February 5 Karachi twin blasts raised to 33 as six more persons succumbed to injuries.

Karachi Anti-Terrorism Court's Administrative Judge Justice Amir Hani Muslim on February 6 remanded two accused, stated to be activists of the banned outfit Jundullah, to judicial custody until February 13 in the Karachi Ashura bomb blast of December 28, 2009.

Daily Times quoting New York Times on February 16 reported that the US and Pakistani intelligence services arrested the top military 'commander' of Taliban, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, in Karachi. Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar was arrested in Karachi "several days ago" by US and Pakistani intelligence services, said the New York Times and other US media, citing unnamed US Government officials. Confirming the report, Reuters quoted a US official as saying that the Taliban's top military 'commander' had been arrested in Pakistan in a joint raid. "I would call it significant," said another US official of Mullah Baradar's arrest. "But even when you get their leaders, they've shown an amazing resilience to bounce back. It's an adaptive organisation," he added. The details of Baradar's apparent arrest were unclear, but the New York Times said the Taliban 'commander' was arrested by operatives from ISI and US's CIA. One Pakistani officer said Baradar was arrested 10 days ago with the assistance of the US and "was talking" to his interrogators. Baradar is in charge of the Taliban's military operations and leadership council, and was a close associate of al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden before the September 11, 2001, attacks.

The CID arrested a 'Taliban commander', Abdullah alias Abu Waqas, who was about to train 270 teenage girls as suicide bombers. As per CID officials, Abdullah alias Abu Waqas, a TTP 'commander' of Bajaur Agency's Naimatullah group, was arrested near Safoora Goth Chowrangi in Karachi. A loaded TT pistol, jihadi literature and CDs were recovered from his possession. During interrogation, he confessed that he had to train 270 teenage girls aged between 13 and 16 for suicide attacks.

The SFs arrested one Sipah-e-Mohammad Pakistan militant, Syed Hammad Riaz, from Karachi allegedly involved in the assassination of the SSP, Ameer (Chief) Maulana Azam Tariq. Syed Hammad Riaz was arrested in the premises of the Karachi City Courts when he went there for a hearing. Maulana Azam Tariq, the chief of SSP was slain along with three security guards and driver on October 6, 2003 near a toll plaza in the outskirts of Islamabad.

A militant of the Jalaluddin Haqqani Network, identified as Amanullah Mehsud, was arrested by the Security Force personnel from the Clifton area of Karachi.

The CID of the Sindh Police arrested three militants belonging to the LeJ outfit from a hideout near Jamshed Road in Karachi.

Personnel of Intelligence Agencies arrested two militants from Saeedabad in Karachi. The arrestees were identified as Mullah Tayyab Popalzai and Hakeemuddin Mehsud.