Counter Terrorism Department Deputy Inspector General Syed Khurram Ali disclosed on Thursday that the purported organizer of the improvised explosive device (IED) attack in Karachi’s Saddar area earlier this month, was trained in Iran and received directions and money from banned Sindhudesh Revolutionary Army head Asghar Shah, who was living in the neighboring country.
This comes a day after, two suspected militants, believed to have been a part of the banned outfit and involved in the recent blast in Saddar, were shot down in a purported encounter on Wednesday.
A Counter Terrorism Department official Mazhar Mashwani told a local newspaper that a joint raid was conducted by police and an intelligence agency on Mauripur Road. The two suspected militants identified as Allah Dino, aged 28, and Nawab Ali, aged 26, were killed in a gun battle.
The CTD official added that the slain suspects had direct ties with the head of banned outfit, Asghar Shah. They were linked with the recent improvised explosive device blast in the commercial area of Saddar in Karachi, he said.
According to the DIG, the suspect Allah Dino set off an IED attached to a bicycle via a remote control in the crowded Saddar area on May 12. A passer-by was killed and several others received injuries. The banned group SRA claimed responsibility of the attack which targeted an official vehicle of the Pakistan Coast Guards.
During the presser, the DIG also played an audio recording of a telephone call between Shah and Dino. He added that Dino received money and directions from Shah.
According to a CTD spokesman, Dino and Nawab Ali had been given Rs178,000 from the banned group via a mobile cash wallet to conduct terrorist activities.
He added that the teams were searching for the escaped suspect. He added that intelligence-based operations had been conducted, due to which other members of the terrorist network – Mohammad Sabir and Nadeem Ali Mugheri – were caught along with weapons and ammunition.
