Pak counter-terror officer survives blast,8 killed

I will not be cowed. I will teach a lesson to generations of militants

In a brazen attack,a Taliban suicide bomber Monday rammed his 300 kg explosive-laden vehicle into the house of a senior Pakistani counter-terrorism officer killing at least eight persons including six policemen and a child.

Special Superintendent of Police Chaudhry Aslam,who was the target,escaped unhurt in the early morning attack that flattened his house in the posh Defence area of Karachi. Six of those killed in the attack,that took place at 7:30 am,were the officers bodyguards. Others included a woman and her child.

The banned terror group Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack and has given a list of five officers who they will target. Taliban spokesman,Ehsanullah Ehsan said the outfit would also be targeting other police officials involved in arresting and killing of its cadre members.

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According to sources,Aslam had earlier received threats from various militant groups including the Taliban. Aslam was part of a special unit that conducted operations against militants and criminal gangs and he had captured several persons linked to the Taliban and al-Qaeda.

I will not be cowed. I will teach a lesson to generations of militants…I did not know that these terrorists were such cowards that they would attack sleeping children, said Aslam speaking to the media. He called the attack a cowardly act.

The officer and his family were shifted to an undisclosed location soon after the attack.

The blast,which was heard from several kilometres away,damaged several nearby houses and cars parked in the area. The explosion caused a 10-foot deep and 25-foot wide crater. Police officials said the bomber had used 300 kg of explosives.

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Several schools and educational institutions are located near the officers home and the blast was followed by a traffic snarl as parents rushed to the area to pick up their children. The woman killed in the blast was a school teacher while the dead child was her 12-year-old son,officials at the Jinnah Hospital confirmed.

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