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Bomb kills Pakistan police chief Chaudhry Aslam | |
(about 4 hours later) | |
A senior police officer known in Pakistan for campaigning against the Taliban has been killed in a bomb blast in Karachi. | A senior police officer known in Pakistan for campaigning against the Taliban has been killed in a bomb blast in Karachi. |
Chaudhry Aslam, the head of the city's anti-terror operations, and at least two others died in an attack on a police convoy in the Essa Nagri area of the city, reports say. | |
Mr Aslam had survived a number of previous attempts on his life. | |
The Pakistani Taliban said they carried out Thursday's attack. | The Pakistani Taliban said they carried out Thursday's attack. |
A spokesman said Mr Aslam had been targeted as he had "killed, tortured and wounded" Taliban members. | |
'Cowards' | 'Cowards' |
A car carrying explosives smashed into Mr Aslam's convoy. | |
Images from the scene show a number of vehicles completely destroyed and nearby buildings damaged. | Images from the scene show a number of vehicles completely destroyed and nearby buildings damaged. |
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif paid tribute to the police chief and condemned the attack. | Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif paid tribute to the police chief and condemned the attack. |
"We will not let the will of the nation be crushed by these cowardly acts by terrorists," Pakistani newspaper Dawn quoted Mr Sharif as saying. | "We will not let the will of the nation be crushed by these cowardly acts by terrorists," Pakistani newspaper Dawn quoted Mr Sharif as saying. |
Correspondents say that Mr Aslam was a well-known figure in Karachi. | |
Since 2008, his unit has been involved in the arrests of dozens of militants - including would-be suicide bombers - planning attacks in Pakistan and across the border in Afghanistan. | Since 2008, his unit has been involved in the arrests of dozens of militants - including would-be suicide bombers - planning attacks in Pakistan and across the border in Afghanistan. |
But the BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad says Mr Aslam was often accused of carrying out "fake encounters" - capturing and killing militants in staged gunfights instead of taking them through the courts. An internal police inquiry cleared him. | |
During his final raid, in the early hours of Thursday, three militants were injured in a gunfight in the Manghopir district but were dead on arrival at hospital. | |
Our correspondent says that such a dogged and harsh pursuit of militants made him a long-term target of the Taliban. | |
Mr Aslam had escaped unhurt when a car packed with explosives blew up outside his home in Karachi in 2011, killing at least eight people. | |
After that attack, he said: "They are cowards. They call themselves Muslims but they are unbelievers. This will make me even more determined to carry on operations against them. | |
"They targeted sleeping children. I walk these streets day and night. If they want to kill me, they should come and attack me directly," he said. |