Three Pakistani paramilitary troops killed in Karachi attack

KARACHI- A bomb and gun attack on a Sindh Rangers facility in Karachi killed three paramilitary troops and injured four on Saturday, Pakistan's military said, as the country battles a surge in violence.

Militants from the Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a faction of the Pakistani Taliban, detonated an explosive at the entrance of the Rangers camp in Karachi's Gulistan-i-Jauhar neighborhood before opening fire on the troops, the military said in a statement.

Witnesses said they heard a loud blast followed by gunfire along a major road near several universities and Pakistan’s meteorological department.

Mohammad Bakhsh said he was praying at a nearby mosque when he heard the explosion.

"The ground felt like it does when there is an earthquake," the 40-year-old who runs a restaurant in the area said.

"When we came out there was smoke everywhere ... then the gunfire started," he said, adding the firing went on for around 15 minutes.

The military said three militants were killed in the exchange of fire, while a fourth, an Afghan national, was captured.

"Pakistan shall undertake retribution operations against the perpetrators of this attack," it said.

The attack could spark fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan and prompt Islamabad to launch more airstrikes on its neighbor. The allies turned foes have been engaged in a sporadic conflict since fighting their worst battle in years in February, with hundreds killed in the conflict this year.

Islamabad blames Kabul for harboring militants that it says plot attacks in Pakistan, but the Afghan Taliban denies the allegations and says militancy is Pakistan's ​internal problem.

This attack is the most significant in Karachi since an explosion targeting a Chinese convoy in October 2024, which killed two Chinese nationals.

Attacks in Pakistan’s major cities have become increasingly rare in recent years but the surge in militancy has raised concerns that violence could return to urban centers.

-Reporting by Ariba Shahid in Karachi and Akhtar Soomor in Karachi; Writing by Angela Christy and Gnaneshwar Rajan in Bengaluru, Saad Sayeed in Islamabad; Editing by Peter Graff, Chizu Nomiyama and Kate Mayberry)