Terrorist involved in Rangers camp attack in Karachi says he was trained in Afghanistan

One of the attackers involved in the incident at the Pakistan Rangers (Sindh) Camp in Karachi’s Gulistan-i-Jauhar has detailed how the attack was carried out and revealed that he was trained in Afghanistan, according to security sources.

The attack was carried out on Saturday night, following which three security personnel were martyred during an exchange of fire with the terrorists, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said on Sunday.

ISPR said in a statement that the attack was carried out by terrorists “belonging to Indian proxy, Jamaatul Ahrar (JuA)”, adding that three terrorists were killed in retaliatory action while one was arrested.

Later, security sources said the arrested terrorist had identified himself as Usman Ali and revealed that he had come to Pakistan from Jalalabad in Afghanistan. They added that Ali identified the three other attackers as Abdul Hadi, Janaan and Umar Farooq.

Moreover, the sources said, he admitted that he belonged to JuA, whose commander in Afghanistan he identified as Ahrar Moulvi.

According to the sources, the terrorist, Usman Ali, said he and his companions were trained in Afghanistan. The attacker said he was only given a jacket in Afghanistan by a man he identified as Umar Qari who also trained the terrorists, and they prepared the explosive material themselves, the sources said.

With regards to the attack, Ali revealed that Janaan had thrown a bomb at the Rangers camp, the sources said.

Ali said that he and his companions had come to Hadi, who was a resident of Bajaur, seven days ago and were housed in an under-construction building, according to security sources.

The sources said Ali further revealed that all arrangements from them had been made before they arrived in Karachi. “Abdul Hadi knew everything. He came here previously as well,” the sources quoted him as saying.

Moreover, he said that he and his companions previously did not know the difference between the army and the Rangers. “We came to know about the Rangers after coming here,” the sources quoted him as saying.

They further quoted him as saying that Hadi had sourced the weapons used in the attack from Waziristan.

Speaking about the attack, he said he was shot while running, according to the sources.

As the attack was launched, the residents of Gulistan-i-Jauhar had reported hearing the sounds of an explosion and gunfire at around 8pm on Thursday.

The powerful blast and subsequent heavy gunfire had forced residents and bystanders to scramble for safety. Law enforcement and emergency rescue services had rushed to the scene, while multiple arterial roads leading from Mosamiyat to the Rangers camp were closed to vehicular traffic as a security operation continued late into the night.

The military’s media affairs wing said the attack was carried out by the proscribed JuA. The terror outfit was formed by Abdul Wali aka Omar Khalid Khorasani in 2014 after his split from the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), but both groups joined hands in 2024.

Khorasani was in a car bomb attack in August 2022 in Afghanistan.

In January 2025, a dispute between the two surfaced in the media. Although no formal separation occurred, when the TTP announced its appointments for 2025 in February, no significant positions were allocated to the JuA.

According to information available on the United Nations Security Council’s website, the JuA is based in Nangarhar, Afghanistan.

“Most of JuA commanders and operatives hail from Mohmand Agency … [They were] dispersed after Pakistan’s military operation Zarb-i- Azb. Remnants continue to launch terrorist attacks inside Pakistan,” the website states.

For its part, Islamabad has repeatedly urged the Taliban administration in Kabul to dismantle terrorist sanctuaries on Afghan soil that are used for attacks in Pakistan. Officials say those appeals have gone unheeded.

Earlier this month, Pakistan also carried out strikes on terrorist hideouts along its border with Afghanistan and killed 26 terrorists.

Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said at the time that the strikes were carried out in the aftermath of recent terrorist incidents in Pakistan, including an attack on a Federal Constabulary (FC) post in Musa Dara in Peshawar on June 11. Tarar also mentioned “vehicle-borne suicide attacks on a military post in North Waziristan” on June 2, which was foiled, and the May 9 suicide attack on a Bannu post that claimed the lives of 15 police personnel. ...