Dr. Akhtar Gulfam Editor-in-Chief, Daily Dawn, Director News Dawn TV
London/Karachi: A British news agency has claimed in its report that US Marines opened fire on Pakistani protesters during the attack on the US consulate in Karachi last week. The report quotes two US officials as saying that the Marines opened fire after protesters stormed the consulate building.
According to the report, this is the first time that direct firing by US Marines has been confirmed in this incident. However, US officials say that it is not clear whether the shots fired by the Marines hit anyone or resulted in any deaths.
Officials also said they did not know whether other personnel guarding the mission, including private security guards and local police, also opened fire.
During the incident, protesters attempted to break through the outer wall of the consulate and enter the compound, killing at least 10 people.
Two US government officials said that US Marines opened fire on protesters who entered the US consulate in Karachi on Sunday.
According to the British news agency Reuters, 10 people were shot in the incident when protesters protesting the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei broke through the outer wall of the compound.
A Karachi police official told the news agency that the shots were fired from inside the consulate premises.
The US Marines have sent details of the incident and answers to questions to their military, which have been forwarded to the State Department.
The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The U.S. embassy is located in the capital, Islamabad, while additional U.S. consulates are located in Karachi, Lahore and Peshawar.
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