Three Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants were killed in an encounter with Pakistani security forces in Karachi, officials confirmed on Monday. Among those killed was Zafran, who was identified as the mastermind of a November 2024 attack on two Chinese engineers in Pakistan’s largest city. He carried a bounty of Rs 20 million. The operation was conducted late Sunday night in the Manghopir area by the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) and intelligence agencies, CTD official Raja Umer Khattab told Dawn. The TTP men opened fire when they saw security personnel approaching, triggering a firefight which lasted over an hour.Authorities recovered a suicide jacket, three grenades, a Kalashnikov rifle, two pistols, and a large quantity of ammunition from the site.On November 5 last year, a private security guard opened fire on two Chinese nationals at a textile mill in Karachi, injuring both before fleeing. Pakistan has witnessed a sharp increase in militant attacks—particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan—since the TTP ended its ceasefire with the federal government in late 2022.Founded in 2007, the TTP is an umbrella organisation of various extremist groups seeking to impose a strict version of Islamic law across Pakistan. It has claimed responsibility for numerous high-profile attacks, including the 2008 Marriott Hotel bombing in Islamabad, the 2009 assault on army headquarters, and multiple strikes on security installations.
