KARACHI : Three Pakistani Rangers were killed in a terror attack in the southern megacity Karachi on Saturday evening, the country's military said, following an explosion and heavy gunfire.

A statement released Sunday by the Pakistan Armed Forces said terror group Jamaat-ul-Ahrar was responsible for the "cowardly" raid on a Rangers camp in the port city.

"The assailants, after a blast at main gate of the camp, attempted to breach the perimeter security, however, their nefarious designs were decisively foiled by the vigilant and resolute response of Rangers troops," which left three attackers dead and another wounded.

The statement added that three Rangers died and four more were wounded.

Jamaat-ul-Ahrar is a militant group often linked to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Attacks, many claimed by the TTP and its affiliates, have escalated in recent years in Pakistan.

Islamabad has accused Afghanistan of providing a safe haven to militants since the Afghan Taliban returned to governing the country in 2021, which Kabul has repeatedly denied.

The armed forces statement said Pakistan will "continue at full pace to wipe out menace of foreign sponsored and supported terrorism from the country", and vowed retaliation.

AFP journalists heard heavy gunfire in Karachi on Saturday night, as armed service personnel cordoned off streets around the Mosamiat Chowrangi area of the city, the capital of Sindh province.

Paramilitary forces were seen wrapped in ammunition as others moved through the streets in the back of pick-up trucks.

The Sindh chief minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said he had called for a detailed report into the incident.

Pakistan's President Asif Ali Zardari said on X he express his "heartfelt sympathy and condolences to the families of the martyrs, and prays for the speedy recovery of the injured personnel".