Multiple blasts rock ISI compound in Sukkur; seven killed

KARACHI: A series of blasts rocked the southern town of Sukkur late Wednesday as militants rammed an explosive-laden vehicle into a compound of Pakistans premier intelligence agency, security officials said.
Seven people were killed and 38 injured in the brazen attack on the local headquarters of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), said DG Rangers Major-General Rizwan Akhtar.The dead included four attackers, one intelligence agent and a government employee, in what was an unprecedented attack in the otherwise peaceful town.

The terrorists had seized control of one government building, and security forces locked into a grueling gun-battle with the attackers lasting over an hour in the high-security Barrage Colony area of Sukkur, located around 500 kilometres from Karachi, the main city of Sindh province.Akhtar confirmed that all attackers had been killed and the ISI compound had been cleared of the militants.
All three terrorists who entered the compound have been killed. Casualties and damage assessment is in progress and a search operation for any leftover explosives is underway,said Akhtar.
He said the front wall and gate of the ISI headquarters has been blown away by the impact of the first blast.
Another building caught fire and the wall of a third had collapsed, the state-owned channel PTV reported earlier.
A senior police official said it appeared to be an organised terrorist attack.
Militants have launched such sophisticated attacks before, but Sukkur has been traditionally immune from such violence.
Last year, militants attacked Kamra, a major airbase, and damaged an aircraft.
The year before, Pakistani Taliban gunmen attacked a naval base in Karachi, the countrys biggest city. Ten military personnel were killed in the 16-hour assault.
In 2009, they attacked the national army headquarters in the garrison town of Rawalpindi, close to the federal capital.