Violence in south Pakistan claims 5 lives

At least five people were killed in different incidents of violence in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi on Thursday, said police. The paramilitary Rangers and police carried out joint operations against the militants in Kunwari colony of Karachi's Manghopir area during which two people were killed in an exchange of fire between security forces and suspected militants. A spokesman for Rangers said in a press statement that the two killed in the encounter were members of the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) who resisted arrest and opened fire when the raiding team reached the area. The Rangers personnel claimed to recover grenades, handguns and other weapons from the killed militants. The bodies were shifted to Abbasi Shaheed Hospital in Karachi. In another incident of violence, police recovered three dead bodies bearing marks of torture from Rehrhi Goth area of Karachi's Landhi. According to police officials, the bodies belonged to members of a gang killed by rival gangsters. The largest Pakistani city and economic hub has been facing militants insurgency, gang wars, and kidnappings for ransom, extortion and terrorism for the last many years. The federal cabinet approved Rangers led operation in Karachi