13 policemen killed in Karachi bombing

KARACHI: A bombing targeting a police bus on Thursday claimed the lives of 13 policemen and left 55 others injured, officials said.

Senior police officials initially said the early morning blast was a suicide attack in which a small Suzuki van had smashed into the police bus.

But Raja Umer Khatab, chief of the city's counter-terrorism unit, later said the van had been parked on the hard shoulder along the bus's route and was remotely detonated when the two vehicles were side by side.

Security forces cordoned off the area and sealed the blast site. Traffic on National Highway was suspended after the security forces closed the main artery for any sort of commuting.

The deceased and injured were shifted to Jinnah Hospital for medico-legal formalities and treatment respectively where six policemen were said to be in critical condition, according to the hospital sources.

The responsibility of the attack was claimed by the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). A spokesman for the TTP says attacks will continue until a ceasefire is announced.

Speaking to media outside JPMC, Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon said the targeted operation against terrorists would continue in Karachi. Memon said Thursday’s attack on the police was in retaliation to the ongoing operation.

Several of the policemen injured in the attack spoke to Geo News and expressed their resolve to continue fighting terrorists in the city.