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Police officers shot dead in Bhutto stronghold

Two police officers were killed opn Sunday when unknown men opened fire in the Lyari - a Karachi neighbourhood which has faced trouble since protests by supporters of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) last week.

  • By Muazzam Khan, Correspondent
  • Published: 00:02 November 19, 2007
  • Gulf News

Karachi: Two police officers were killed opn Sunday when unknown men opened fire in the Lyari - a Karachi neighbourhood which has faced trouble since protests by supporters of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) last week.

The Lyari neighbourhood is a traditional stronghold of the PPP and has also faced severe gang wars in recent years. Last week, three people, including two boys, were killed during protests by PPP activists against the imposition of emergency by President Pervez Musharraf.

The two police officers - a head constable and a constable - were attacked while they were patrolling the area on motorcycle. The two were seriously wounded as a result of the firing, and were taken to hospital, where they were pronounced dead.

The unknown attackers also took away their official weapons.

Hospital officials said the dead policemen received several bullet wounds on their chests and faces. Police said they were investigating, and did not say whether the killings were related to the ongoing opposition protests, or the gang war that has crippled Lyari in recent times.

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