KARACHI, Pakistan – A coordinated militant attack on the headquarters of Pakistan’s paramilitary Rangers force in the southern port city of Karachi has left three service members dead and four others injured, Pakistani military officials confirmed Sunday. The assault unfolded Saturday night, when a militant attacker drove a vehicle packed with explosives into the perimeter of the Rangers’ provincial compound, setting off a blast that sparked hours of intense close-quarters combat between assailants and security forces, according to local police and civilian witnesses.
Following the initial breach, security forces launched a rapid counter-offensive to clear the compound. In a formal statement, the military confirmed that three of the attackers were killed during the gun battle, while a fourth wounded suspect was taken into custody. Officials identified the captured attacker as an Afghan national. As of Sunday, search operations remained ongoing in neighborhoods surrounding the headquarters to root out any remaining accomplices linked to the attack.
Shortly after the assault, the militant faction Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban, issued a statement claiming responsibility for the strike. Pakistani military officials have alleged the group operates as a proxy for Indian intelligence, though no concrete evidence was provided to support the claim. India has not yet issued an official response to the latest allegation, and New Delhi has consistently rejected similar claims made by Islamabad in previous years.
The attack drew immediate condemnation from Pakistan’s top civilian leaders. President Asif Ali Zardari honored the three Rangers personnel killed in the line of duty, extending his deepest condolences to the bereaved families and offering prayers for a full recovery for the four wounded service members. In his statement, Zardari reaffirmed the country’s unwavering commitment to rooting out terrorism from Pakistani soil and praised the ongoing sacrifices of security forces in the multi-year fight against militancy. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif echoed the president’s remarks, condemning the attack and commending security forces for their rapid response that prevented a larger loss of life.
Military officials also issued a stark warning, stating that Pakistan will take firm retaliatory action against all actors and groups found responsible for the assault. Cross-border militant activity has long been a source of tension between Pakistan and neighboring Afghanistan. In recent years, Islamabad has launched multiple cross-border airstrikes inside Afghanistan targeting militant groups it says stage attacks on Pakistani targets from Afghan territory. The Afghan government in Kabul has repeatedly denied that it allows militant groups to operate from its territory to carry out cross-border assaults.
The attack comes amid a documented upsurge in militant violence targeting Pakistani security and police personnel across the country over the past several years, reversing years of progress made in large-scale counter-terrorism operations that weakened major militant networks in the region.