KARACHI: At least one Rangers official was martyred and four wounded in Lyari’s Zikri Para during a regular patrol when terrorists opened fire on their vehicle, a spokesperson said.
Grenades and homemade ammunition were used during the attack on Rangers personnel, the spokesperson said, adding that the wounded officers were shifted to Civil Hospital.
Rangers opened retaliatory fire on the terrorists, successfully killing five of them, with an additional contingent arriving shortly thereafter for aid.
There were reports of intermittent firing in the area as well.
In addition, newsman reported at the scene, said the assailants made use of automatic guns as well. He said the terrorists allegedly belonged to the Zikri Group of Lyari, which had been trying to regroup and reform recently.
The operation was carried out jointly by Rangers and police over intel of gang war suspects’ presence in the area, sources said, adding that the names included the notorious Ghaffar Zikri and Shiraz Zikri.
Shiraz Zikri, had reached Lyari from Balochistan a few days back.
Ghaffar Zikri, on the other hand, had gone into hiding in Balochistan’s Vindar locale right after the prior Lyari operation. He is named in more than 100 criminal cases.
A cousin of his was also recently arrested.
However, the said area was subsequently cordoned off and the entry and exit points sealed off. Rangers and police personnel consequently commenced a search operation.
A hand grenade, three homemade bombs, one 9-millimetre (9mm) pistol and firearm magazines were recovered from the deceased terrorists, the Rangers spokesperson mentioned, adding that the identification process of the suspects was underway.
