UPDATE - 5 dead, several injured as terrorists storm police headquarters in Pakistan's port city Karachi

UPDATE 1 - 7 dead, several injured as terrorists storm police headquarters in Pakistan's port city Karachi
- All 3 terrorists were killed in over 4 hours long operation
UPDATE, CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK, OPERATION COMPLETED, MORE INFORMATION, FULL EDITS

By Aamir Latif

KARACHI, Pakistan (AA) – ***At least seven people, including three suspected militants, have been killed and several others injured after heavily-armed terrorists stormed the police headquarters in the port city of Karachi on Friday evening, officials and local media reported.

A group of at three assailants who stormed the compound at 7:10 pm (0310 GMT), were killed in a four and a half hours-long operation, Murtaza Wahab, a Spokesman of the government of southern Sindh province, of which Karachi is the capital.

A suspected militant blew himself up to avoid when security forces besieged him, whereas another two were killed in exchange of firing, Wahab told reporters.

The deceased included, two policeman a para-military troop, and a civilian employee, Dr. Tariq Mahmood, an official of Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center told reporters.

At least 15 people, including six personnel of the para-military force, Rangers, and five policemen were injured in the operation that involved heavy firing and hand grenade explosions.

"The operation at Karachi police headquarters has been completed.All the three terrorists have been killed," Muqaddas Haider, a deputy city police chief told reporters.

One terrorist blew himself up at the fourth floor of the main building, while another two were killed on the rooftop, Haider said.

One of the terrorists was hit by a sniper from a nearby building, he added.

Security forces raised slogans of "Allah o Akbar" or Allah is great, heralding the culmination of the operation.

No group claimed the responsibility for the attack, the latest in a series of bombings and ambushes against the security forces, in recent months.
The security forces, nonetheless, point a finger on the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and its affiliates, which have long been involved in audacious attack as on to the security forces.

Police, paramilitary troops, and army commandos rushed to the police headquarters to launch an operation to neutralize the suspected militants who took positions in different portions of the five-story compound located along the city's busiest Sharae Faisal.

Citing various police officials, local broadcaster Geo News reported that the assailants reached the compound by car, and used the rear entrance to storm the building.

Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah told Geo News that the terrorists hurled hand grenades before entering the compound, and took positions on different floors.

Several massive explosions coupled with frequent firing rattled the entire neighborhood, with one huge blast causing a portion of the main building to collapse.

The brazen attack follows a suicide bombing at a mosque inside a police compound in northwestern Peshawar city, killing over 100 people on Jan 30.

Later, the police downgraded the death toll to 84.

Pakistan has seen a surge in terrorist attacks since the Taliban's storming back to the power in August 2021.

Islamabad has long been accusing Afghanistan-based TTP militants of launching a rejuvenated spate of terrorism in the country, and urging the Taliban to not let the militant network use the Afghan soil as a launch pad.

Kabul, however, rejects the charge.