Taliban suicide bomber attacks senior police officer’s home in Karachi

At least eight people are killed when bomber drives a car packed with explosives into the house in Pakistan’s commercial hub At least eight people have been killed, including six police officers, after a Taliban suicide bomber drove an explosives-laden car into the home of a senior police official in Pakistan’s commercial hub, Karachi. The six police officers were guarding the home of Karachi’s senior superintendent of police, Chaudhry Mohammad Aslam, who survived the attack, said a police official, Naeem Shaikh. He added that a woman and a child had also been killed in the blast. Police said 300kg (136lb) of explosives had been used. Aslam told reporters he had received threats from militant groups, including Pakistani Taliban insurgents, who are close to al-Qaida. “I was sleeping when they carried out this cowardly act and rammed a vehicle packed with explosives into my house,” said Aslam at the scene of the blast. “I will not be cowed. I will teach a lesson to generations of militants.” The Taliban claimed responsibility for the bombing, saying Aslam had arrested and killed many of its fighters. “We will attack other police officials as well who are taking action against our people,” a Taliban spokesman, Ehsanullah Ehsan, told Reuters by telephone from an undisclosed location. He went on to name five Karachi police officials on the Taliban hit list. The assault broke a lull in militant violence in Karachi, Pakistan’s biggest city, which is home to ports, the main stock exchange and central bank. “My daughter was preparing to go to school when all of a sudden the explosion occurred. My daughter started crying and I ran out of house to see what has happened,” said Mohammad Imran, one of Aslam’s neighbours. “I saw a cloud of smoke rising in the sky. Our children are traumatised. Our families are disturbed. There is no security.” The blast left a 2.5-metre crater and much of Aslam’s house was destroyed. Cement blocks, cars parts, broken chairs and pieces of shattered beds were strewn at the scene. At a Karachi hospital, two victims of the attack wrapped in cloth lay on a bed. Aslam is a well known police officer who led many high-profile raids on everyone from suspected al-Qaida cells in safehouses to some of Karachi’s most hardened criminals. Pakistan Taliban Global terrorism Afghanistan guardian.co.uk

Posted by on September 19, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.