RAWALPINDI: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Raheel Sharif on Thursday assured the Sindh Police of the Army's support in their efforts towards eliminating terrorism in the province.

The COAS telephoned Inspector General Police (IGP) Sindh A.D. Khawaja to express his deep sorrow over the killing of policemen in Karachi's Orangi Town area a day earlier. He asked Khawaja to convey his condolences to the families of the policemen killed in the attack, a Sindh police statement said.

The army chief appreciated the sacrifices rendered by Sindh police during the fight against criminal elements in Karachi.

Related: Seven policemen guarding polio workers shot dead

Seven police commandos guarding polio workers were gunned down in twin attacks carried out by armed motorcyclists. A police forensic report confirmed that the same weapons had been used in the targeted killing of at least 27 people in different areas of Orangi Town, Ittehad Town and Korangi in 2014 and 2015.

A Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) officer who examined the crime scene believed the twin attacks were carried out by the same group.

Although Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a breakaway faction of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, claimed responsibility for deadly attacks on the police, the information needs to be confirmed, according to an officer of the Sindh police counter-terrorism department.

Before Wednesday's attack, official figures show that seven polio workers and three policemen had been killed in 13 incidents in Sindh while Karachi was predominantly the major affected destination for such attacks.

During his recent visit to Karachi, the COAS termed lasting peace in Karachi, the “ultimate aim” of the Rangers-led exercise, adding that the operation, launched over two years ago, is not going to end anytime soon.

Related: Karachi operation won’t end soon, says Raheel

Karachi operation

The ‘operation’ against criminal elements in Pakistan’s commercial hub was initiated back in September 2013 after the federal cabinet empowered Rangers to lead a targeted advance with the support of police against criminals already identified by federal military and civilian agencies for their alleged involvement in targeted killings, kidnappings for ransom, extortion and terrorism in Karachi.