Webdesk: Three suspected militants were shot dead during a gunfight with Karachi police in the early hours of Monday, during a CTD operation. The raid took place in the Manghopir area after intelligence reports pointed to the presence of members of the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Fitna Al-Khawarij faction, holed up inside a residential property.
Officials from the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) said that the suspects opened fire as the police encircled the house, triggering an intense shootout. All three men were killed in the CTD operation exchange.
One of the slain individuals was later identified as Zafran, who carried a Rs20 million bounty, according to CTD DSP Raja Umar Khattab. Another suspect was named as Qudratullah, while the third remains unidentified.
Speaking outside Civil Hospital Karachi, DSP Khattab confirmed that one of the men was believed to be a suicide bomber and was suspected of being involved in an attack targeting Chinese nationals in the city last year.
Security officials recovered explosives, suicide jackets, grenades, and a notebook listing possible future targets from the scene. The bomb disposal squad conducted a thorough sweep of the premises following the operation. Authorities are now trying to identify the owner of the house, where the suspects had reportedly been hiding for some time.
In total, 113 people lost their lives in militant attacks during May, including 52 members of the security forces, 46 civilians, 11 militants, and four individuals linked to peace committees. Another 182 people got injured, mostly civilians.
In the meantime, at least 59 suspected militants were killed in counter-terror operations conducted by law enforcement. These operations also led to the deaths of five security officials. Cumulatively, there were 172 deaths in the month of May.
The provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa remained the worst affected. Balochistan alone accounted for 35 attacks, which resulted in 51 deaths, including 30 civilians, 18 security officials, and three militants, and 100 injuries, most of them civilians.
Despite heightened tensions between Pakistan and India during the month, the regional friction did not result in any significant uptick in cross-border militant violence, according to the report.
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