KARACHI: A police officer known for his anti-terrorism campaign, and three other people were killed in a suicide attack in the old Sabzi Mandi area on Thursday.

Sub-Inspector Shafiq Tanoli was sitting at a tailoring shop when a young man approached him and after a brief conversation blew himself up.

The sub-inspector, his uncle Mohammad Daud, friend Jalal Ahmed and tailor Aijaz Hyder were killed in the explosion and two police guards of the SI and a passerby were wounded.

Mr Tanoli had survived seven attempts on his life in the past and his brother, Naveed Tanoli, was shot dead in 2011 the same day when the officer had arrested an alleged killer of GeoNews reporter Wali Khan Babar.

The outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) indirectly claimed responsibility for the attack on Mr Tanoli, saying the SI had killed several TTP activists in ‘fake’ encounters.