ISLAMABAD, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- A total of 18 people were killed in targeted attacks and armed mugging incidents during the month of September in Pakistan's southern port city of Karachi, according to the data released late Tuesday by the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC).
An incident of kidnapping for ransom and three cases of extortion were also reported during the same month amid an alarming increase in criminal activities in Karachi, the largest city of Pakistan with a population of over 15 million.
CPLC said over 1,737 mobile phones, 26 vehicles and 147 motorcycles were snatched from the citizens at gunpoint by armed men in different areas of Karachi, the provincial capital of the country's southern Sindh province.
In order to maintain peace and security in the metropolis, the provincial home department has extended the policing powers of paramilitary force Rangers for 90 days to allow them to arrest and question criminals and terror suspects.
Under the special policing powers derived from the Anti-Terrorism Act of Pakistan, the Rangers can conduct raids and carry out arrests during targeted operations against criminal elements in Sindh including Karachi.
