Karachi: Around 10 heavily-armed militants,
who attacked and destroyed the CID headquarters in this
southern Pakistani port city killing 21 people and wounding
140 others, were trying to free their detained men.
"The terrorists aim was to get their men freed from
detention, but they failed," Sindh Chief Minister Syed Qaim
Ali Shah told reporters after visiting the blast site today.
Meanwhile, Federal Interior Minister Rehman Malik said
that Lashkar-e-Jhangvi was behind yesterday`s brazen suicide
attack on CID building, located at a walking distance from the
Sindh Chief Minister`s House and two five-star hotels.
"Lashkar-e-Jhangvi is behind the attack on CID building
at Karachi," he told reporters in Islamabad today.
Soon after the attack, Tehrik-e-Taliban had claimed
responsibility for the attack, warning more attacks if its
demands were not met.
Several activists from LeJ and Pakistani Taliban had
been rounded up in recent weeks in Sindh. Earlier this week,
the CID had arrested six activists of the LeJ, one of the most
violent anti-Shia groups with links to the al Qaeda.
Inspector-General of Police Fayyaz Leghari said that
according to eyewitness accounts they were around 10 militants
involved in the attack and they came in two vehicles one of
which carried explosives weighing around 500 kilograms.
He said militants first exchanged fire with the guards
for around 15 minutes before driving the explosive laden car
into the compound leading to the massive blast.
"We are in the process of investigations and we have
found some clues but I can`t share them with you right now,"
he told reporters after visiting the blast site.
He said that investigators were looking at footage
collected from some six CCTV cameras which were installed in
the CID building and other offices in close proximity.
Pakistan has borne the brunt of terrorist attacks in
recent times with terrorists linked to Tehreek-e-Taliban or
other banned outfits targeting buildings and installations of
security agencies, foreign missions and the government.
In many other cases, the terrorists have also directly
targeted police training centres and mosques.
Analysts also believe the attack on the CID centre might
have been an attempt to either free or kill the arrested
militants but fortunately the CID had taken them to another
investigation centre after getting their remand from court
earlier in the day.
PTI
