Karachi police officer survives bomb attack that killed two, injured 25

KARACHI: At least two people were killed and 21 others injured after a police officer's car parked outside his house was targeted in a bomb attack here on Friday evening, Geo News reported.

According to reports, Inspector Shafiq Tanoli, Station House Officer (SHO), Mochko Police Station Baldia Town, had just climbed down from his pickup truck when the bomb struck. He sustained serious injuries in the attack.

Earlier, it was suspected to be a motorcycle bomb blast, however, an injured Inspector Tanoli, while talking to Geo News, said that it was a suicide attack.

In his statement, recorded before Senior Superintendent of Police Farooq Awan, he said that a biker rammed into his vehicle and blew himself up.

The initial report prepared by the police confirms it was suicide bombing.

The attack was carried out outside Inspector Tanoli's house in Purani Sabzi Mandi (Old Vegetable Market) area of the metropolis within the precinct of PIB Police Station.

According to eyewitness accounts, Inspector Tanoli's car was damaged beyond recognition as it caught fire after the bomb went off.

SHO Tanoli's house also took the hit and was partly destroyed in the blast, sources further added. Moreover, the blast also shattered the facades of nearby shops and wiped out some streetside vendors.

Most of the casualties were rushed to Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC), said rescue sources. According to Dr Simi Jamali, head of JPMC's emergency department told Geo News that some of the victims were critical.

Jamali confirmed that two dead bodies and 15 injured people had been admitted. "One of the injured is a policeman," she added.

Other injured were shifted to Aga Khan University Hospital and Liaquat National Hospital.

It is noteworthy that Inspector Tanoli was receiving death threats since the day he had arrested a number of militants including Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) commander in a raid on a Mauripur building.