Bomb kills top Pakistani police who hunted Taliban

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP):

A senior police investigator known for arresting dozens of Pakistani Taliban was killed yesterday in a car bombing, a sharp blow to efforts to crack down on militant groups seeking to gain a foothold in the sprawling southern city of Karachi that is vital to the country's economy.

Chaudhry Aslam was travelling through a commercial area in the port city when a powerful explosion ripped apart the vehicle he was travelling in, police officer Amir Farooqi said. The blast killed two other officers with him, Farooqi said.

Aslam was known for being one of Karachi's toughest police officers who had escaped previous attempts on his life. In September 2011, a suicide bomber detonated a vehicle packed with explosives outside his home. That blast killed eight people, though Aslam escaped unharmed and vowed to continue his work.

cowardly act

"This is a cowardly act," Aslam told local television at the time. "I'm not scared. I will not spare them."

The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for that bombing and for the ones yesterday that killed Aslam. In a telephone call to The Associated Press, Pakistani Taliban spokesman Sajjad Mohmand said that they killed Aslam for torturing their associates.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif condemned the killing, saying that it would not deter the morale of law-enforcement agencies battling militancy.