Pakistan: Six Killed in Armed Attack on Security Base in Karachi

SadaNews - Six people were killed, including three security personnel, in an armed attack targeting the "Sindh Rangers" paramilitary base in Karachi, southern Pakistan, according to security and local sources.

The Inspector General of Sindh province, Javed Alam Odho, reported that three militants were also killed during the clash that erupted inside and around the local base of the paramilitary forces, which fall under the Ministry of Interior and are responsible for internal security and border protection.

Eyewitnesses stated that a loud explosion was heard in the area followed by heavy gunfire along a major road in the Gulshan-e-Jauhar neighborhood, a location that hosts several universities and is situated near the office of the Pakistan Meteorological Department.

One witness, named Mohammad Baksh, explained that he was inside a nearby mosque at the time of the explosion, adding that "the ground shook as if an earthquake had occurred," before he saw thick smoke filling the area, followed by gunfire that lasted for about 15 minutes.

According to Reuters, gunfire later ceased, and the situation returned to calm, while this attack is considered the largest in Karachi since an attack on a Chinese convoy in October 2024 that resulted in the deaths of two people.

This incident comes at a time when Pakistan has been experiencing occasional spikes in militant activity in border areas with Afghanistan, amid fears that violence could spread to major cities despite a decline in attacks over the past years.