PESHAWAR: The outlawed Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the bomb attack on a police van in Karachi in which 13 commandos were killed.

In a statement on Thursday, TTP spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said his organisation had carried out the attack to avenge the killing of `innocent TTP fighters` by Rangers and police in `fake encounters` in Karachi, Peshawar and Swabi.

`Over 20 Taliban fighters were killed over the past one month in fake encounters and their bodies were thrown in different places,` he said, adding: `We are justified in continuing a defensive war until a formal agreement on ceasefire is reached with the government.` He said urgent steps should be taken to prevent such incidents and move forward the peace talks between the Taliban and the government.-Bureau Report