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 (0310GMT), were killed in a four-hour operation, said Murtaza Wahab, a spokesman of the government of the southern Sindh province, of which Karachi is the capital.

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

The deceased included two policemen, a paramilitary trooper, and a civilian employee, Dr. Tariq Mahmood, an official of the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Center, told reporters.

At least 15 people, including six members of the paramilitary Rangers, and five policemen were injured in the operation, which involved heavy gunfire and hand grenade explosions.

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

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

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

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

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, in a tweet, lauded the security forces for their quick response, vowing that the nation will continue its fight against terrorism.

- Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan blamed

No group claimed responsibility for the attack, the latest in a series of bombings and ambushes against security forces in recent months.

But security forces pointed the finger at the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and its affiliates, which have long been involved in audacious attacks on security forces.

After the attack began, police, paramilitary troops, and army commandos rushed to police headquarters to neutralize the suspected militants, who took positions in various parts 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 Jan 30 suicide bombing at a mosque inside a police compound in the northwestern city of Peshawar, killing 84 people.

Pakistan has seen a surge in terrorist attacks since the Taliban came back to power in neighboring Afghanistan in August 2021.

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

Kabul, however, rejects the claims.