Three officials hurt as CTD vehicle targeted with explosive-laden motorcycle

karachi: A bulletproof mobile van of the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) was targeted with an explosive device in the Manghopir area of Karachi on the night between Tuesday and Wednesday.

The bomb attack took place near the Northern Bypass within the limits of the Manghopir police station when the vehicle of the CTD’s intelligence wing was returning from the Kutcha area. The explosive material had been attached to a motorcycle. As a result of the blast, the front side of the vehicle was partially damaged and three CTD personnel were slightly injured.

CTD Incharge Raja Umer Khattab told the media that the CTD team was targeted through the explosive-laden motorcycle that was parked near a graveyard in the Kutcha area. He added that the CTD team had been on a mission in that area for a few days against the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. Following the attack, a heavy contingent of law enforcers cordoned off the area. The CTD also released a photo of the damaged vehicle and motorcycle used in the attack.

CTD officials said the CTD vehicle was bulletproof, due to which no major loss occurred. The motorcycle used in the attack was completely destroyed while the CTD van was partially damaged. The CTD personnel sustained injuries as windows of the van shattered. They were shifted to a hospital.

Bomb Disposal Squad official Ghulam Mustafa Arain explained that two-kilogrammes of an explosive material was used in the attack and a remote-controlled device was used to detonate it.

Investigators said a similar motorcycle with explosives was earlier prepared in order to attack the Chinese consulate in the past, but the bomb could not be detonated. A bomb blast that previously occurred in the Kharadar area also had resemblance with the recent incident, they added.