Karachi CTD operation: Terrorists planned to target Sindh Assembly, say sources

• Militants had done recce of the Sindh Assembly recently, says a source
• One of the militants was supposed to blow himself up at the gate of the Sindh Assembly while the other two stormed it: source
• Three militants belonged to Kandahar while one was from Nangarhar in Afghanistan
  

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KARACHI: The terrorists who were arrested by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) forces from the city's Shah Latif Town area on Monday, planned to target the Sindh Assembly in a gun-and-suicide bomb attack, say sources. 

Sources informed Geo News that authorities obtained forensic data from the mobile phone of one of the terrorists who was arrested by the CTD.

 "The terrorists were directly in touch with their handler from Afghanistan," said the source, adding that three alleged militants hailed from Kandahar while one was from Nangarhar. 

Sources disclosed that a video clip of the Sindh Assembly-- which must have been made while the alleged militants were conducting a recce of the assembly-- was found from one of the alleged terrorists' cellphone, confirming that they intended to target the building.

"This recce was conducted recently," said the source. "The Sindh Assembly was their target however, as no session was held today, the militants couldn't attack today."

The source said that an interrogation had revealed that one of the alleged militants planned to blow himself up in a suicide attack outside the Sindh Assembly's gate. 

The other suspected terrorists were supposed to storm the building while firing after the suicide attack. "The terrorists had kept kalashnikov rifles with them for this very purpose," confirmed the source.

CTD say major terrorist bid foiled as 1 terror suspect killed, five others arrested

On Sunday, the CTD killed a terror suspect and arrested five others after an exchange of fire with them which lasted for more than an hour in Karachi's Shah Latif Town. 

CTD in-charge CTD Raja Umar Khattab had said the terrorists were present in a building in Shah Latif Town and action was taken against them on a tip-off.

He had said that the terrorists had parked a rickshaw in front of the gate of the building which had explosives in its hidden compartments and the men were fully prepared for a major terror activity.

Khattab had said the National Counter-Terrorism Authority had warned of a “major terrorist activity” in Karachi a few days ago.

Terrorists are planning a VBIED attack on “an unspecified important government department” in the city in the near future, NACTA had said.

The CTD official had said they had been monitoring the building for a long time.