Karachi blast kills Pakistani Taliban foe

Armed group claims responsibility for killing police officer Chaudhry Aslam, whose home was destroyed by a bomb in 2011.

A senior Pakistani police officer famous for taking on the Pakistani Taliban has been killed by a car bomb in Karachi.

Chaudhry Aslam, who had survived previous assassination attempts, died on Thursday when the convoy he was travelling in was attacked.

Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) said it carried out the explosion and warned other security officials that they were also targets.

“Yes, we have killed Chaudhry Aslam and claim the responsibility of his killing,” Ehsanullah Ehsan, TTP’s spokesman, told AFP news agency over the phone.

“We attacked him earlier also but he survived. He has killed, tortured and wounded our mujahideen friends … finally, we have sent him towards his end.

“We warn other police and security officials who are brutal to and torture the mujahideen that their fate will be no different.”

The Pakistani Taliban had previously tried to kill Aslam in September 2011, with a huge explosion tearing off the front of his home in Karachi and killing eight people.

After the 2011 bombing, Aslam said: “I will give my life but I won’t bow to terrorists.”

Two other officers died in Thursday’s blast. Another vehicle said to be a taxi was also destroyed in the attack.

Aslam conducted raids against banned groups, including Lashkar-e-Jhangvl (LeJ), the TTP and other criminals operating in Karachi.

Source: Al Jazeera, News Agencies