KARACHI, Jan 30: The Special Investigation Unit, which on Tuesday night raided a militant hideout in Shah Latif Town, narrowly escaped disaster as a “suicide bomber was almost ready to blow himself up”, according to police.

“He was in the process of installing the fuse into the jacket when the police party pinned him down and disabled his jacket,” said a senior police officer of unit.

The suspect, who kept on giving different names, fits the description of a typical suicide bomber, the officer remarked.

“He was numb and mentally prepared to blow himself up.”

The suicide jacket yielded two slabs of C4 (an explosive) weighing two kilograms each and packed with small ball bearings.

However, police have yet to establish his identity and are interrogating him along with three other suspects arrested during Tuesday’s encounter, the officer added.

He went on to say that had the suicide bomber succeeded, the entire premises and a number of neighbouring houses would have blown up.

The raid led to the arrest of Qasim Toori, who is being dubbed as a high-profile militant involved in the 2004 attack in Karachi on then corps commander Ahsan Saleem Hayat.

Another suspect in the case is Tayyab Dad, believed by security agencies to be in touch with militants in Waziristan.

“Tayyab was assigned the task of identifying targets,” sources told Dawn.

Tayyab Dad is an IT expert and according to the CID’s Red Book, lives in Landhi No 1. He has a B.Com degree.

During Tuesday night’s gunbattle at Landhi 89, a handgrenade exploded in Tayyab’s hands, causing serious injuries to him.

“Tayyab has not been formally pronounced dead as he has been put on ventilator at the JPMC. The chances of his survival, however, are bleak,” doctors told Dawn.

Police believe the militants are members of Jandullah, a banned outfit. Mohammad Qasim Toori alias Hamza, according to the Red Book, lives in Rafa-i-Aam Society, Al Falah. He is a former police constable dismissed from service after a court found him and three of his colleagues guilty of sodomy.

Jundullah was formed by some young men living in Shah Faisal Colony, Model Colony and Landhi. Recently they reorganised themselves to carry out fresh attacks in the city, SP Khattab told Dawn.

Apart from the Jundullah men, one militant of Harkat-i-Islami, identified as Danish, was also captured on Tuesday.

Investigators said that Danish lived in Nazimabad No 5. The Harkat-i-Islami is being led by Abdullah, who is believed to be in Waziristan at present, the officer said.

Besides the militants killed or arrested on Tuesday, four of their associates are still at large. They are: Syed Kashif Ali Shah alias Shaheen, Hammad, Bilal and Shahab. Each of them carries Rs500,000 on his head.

PRESS CONFERENCE: Niaz Ahmed Siddiqui, the city police chief, said at a press conference on Wednesday that “timely action by police” had pre-empted a tragedy.

The police chief said the militants started out by snatching weapons from security officials and looting several banks. Later they struck at the PACC, near the US consulate, carrying out twin blasts. They also targeted the Bible Society and the Gulistan-i-Jauhar police station, where they also helped themselves to a rich haul of weapons, and finally the corps commander’s convoy.

After these attacks, 11 Jundullah members were arrested, including the lynchpin, Tipu.

Recently, the accused held up the PICIC Bank and Metropolitan Bank’s branches in Saudabad.

The police chief parried a question about the identity of the women who were living with the militants.