Two terrorist groups operating in Karachi: AIG

The government on Thursday formed a committee comprising senior police officers to investigate into the killings of Ismaili community members the other day. Karachi Police's Additional Inspector-General (AIG) Ghulam Qadir Thebo said it was clear that two terrorist groups were operating in the city. One group, he said was involved in the murder of policemen while the other was targeting communities.
"It is clear that the group which targeted the DSPs is not the same as the one behind the bus attack," he added. The police chief further said that there had been no apparent presence of the terrorist network Islamic State, however, it was possible that someone was just using this name.
"We have found pamphlets from the sites of four different attacks, which have similar contents," he said. Meanwhile, medical examiners have completed an autopsy report on the Karachi bus attack. According to the report, three victims - two men and a woman - also received cuts on their head and neck from a sharp-edged knife-like object.
The post-mortem report has been prepared by police surgeon Dr Jalil Qadir, according to which 18 victims died from a single bullet wound, while 25 received two to three bullets. Several victims were shot in the head from point-blank, says the report which puts the ages of the victims between 20 and 70 years. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Senior Superintendent of Sindh Police's Special Investigation Unit (SIU) Raja Umer Khatab said that four attackers got on the bus and shot the victims, most of them in the head. "Four gunmen entered the bus. We have evidence suggesting that they got on the bus from both (front and back) doors," said Khatab, adding that two to three attackers might have been stayed outside the bus.
Khatab said that police was currently in the process of completing the forensics report. "We are working on the rest of evidence and taking statements from eyewitnesses," he said. When asked about information from eyewitnesses, he said that police had taken statements from a few eyewitnesses but he could not share the information at the moment. He confirmed that 9mm pistols and Kalashnikovs were used in the gruesome attack.