KARACHI, May 2: At least seven people, including a seven-year-old boy, were killed and 30 others wounded on Wednesday — the sixth day of the Lyari operation.

Some 10 persons, who suffered injuries in gun and grenade attacks, were brought to the Civil Hospital Karachi, sources said.

Unidentified persons also ransacked the apartment of the Pakistan People’s Party lawmaker Rafique Engineer in Lyari and then set fire to it. The attackers reportedly also burnt PPP flags.

Although CID SP Aslam Khan, who is leading the operation in Lyari, has time and again claimed to have killed several terrorists, the police have failed to produce even a single body to substantiate their claim.

The circumstances in which seven people were killed on Wednesday were not clear as local police had no idea what was going on in Lyari. Apparently, most of the people were caught in the crossfire between the police and armed gangsters.

The police also claimed to have killed another suspected gangster, who fired on the police from Afshani Gali. However, he could not be identified because his body was taken away by his associates.

A woman, identified as Sajan Bibi, 22, was brought to the Civil Hospital on Wednesday from a Lyari area within the remit of the Chakiwara police station.

A 60-year-old man, identified as Ismail Kutchi, was killed at the Juma Brohi Road, where two rockets were fired. The body was also taken to the CHK.

A seven-year-old boy was killed within the remit of the Kalakot police station while playing. His body was also taken to the Civil Hospital. Noor Zeb, a seminary student, also suffered a gunshot wound in the same area.

A 22-year-old man was killed when he was struck down by an armoured police carrier in the Kalakot area. The body was shifted to the CHK.

In the Nawalane area, the body of a young man, identified as Zafar Kutchi, 22, was also found and taken to the CHK.

A young man, identified as Amjad, was shot dead within the remit of the Kalakot police station.

Police reinforcement

The police made further reinforcement in Lyari as 35 SHOs of the east zone of the Karachi police were ordered to report to Lyari to take part in the operation.

Four tank-like APCs also arrived in Lyari from the interior of Sindh. Similarly, 100 sharpshooters were also deputed on different sensitive places in the area.

Earlier, on Wednesday, police vehicles could not proceed to Shah Abdul Latif Road, where according to police trenches had been dug up.

Three policemen of the Boat Basin police station, who had been transferred to the Chakiwara police station, were made hostage by gangsters in the Kalakot area.

The policemen were in plain clothes and were going to the Chakiwara police station. The gangsters released them after about an hour.

Meanwhile, Ozair Baloch, on whose head the Sindh government has put a bounty, addressed a rally in Lyari and reiterated that the people of Lyari had no association with the PPP.