Eight dead in attack on Sri Lankan cricketers in Pakistan: police
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Masked gunmen launched a brazen attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in the Pakistani city of Lahore Tuesday, killing at least eight people and wounding six team members, police said.
Up to 12 gunmen attacked the teams convoy near the Gaddafi stadium with rockets, hand grenades and automatic weapons, triggering a 25-minute gunbattle with security forces, said Lahore police chief chief Habib-ur Rehman.
"They appeared to be well-trained terrorists," said Rehman, who gave no details about the fate of the gunmen.
Witnesses said the upmarket district around
"There was a blast first, then we heard firing. A rocket launcher was also fired at the bus which narrowly missed," a Sri Lankan player told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Australian freelance cameraman Tony Bennett said people inside the stadium heard explosions followed by bursts of machine gun fire.
"Next thing we knew, the Sri Lankan team bus rolls up being sprayed by bullets. Players were getting carried into the dressing room."
Security experts defused two car bombs and recovered a stash of weapons including grenades, three kilograms (6.6 pounds) of explosives, a pistol and a detonating cable after the deadly ambush.
SIX POLICE OFFICIALS KILLED
A police official said that two civilians and six police officers, who were guarding the players, were killed in the attack, which happened as the team was heading for the third day’s play in the second Test against
Television footage showed several gunmen creeping through trees, crouching to aim their weapons and then running onto the next target.
Broken glass littered the road next to a gun cartridge and an empty rocket-propelled grenade launcher. A police motorbike was shown crashed sideways near to the scene of the attack.
Bullet holes ripped through the windscreen of another vehicle and a white car was shown smashed headlong as nervous security officers guarded the site.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility but fears of attacks by Islamic militants linked to al Qaeda have caused many cricket teams to cancel tours to
The shooting also came as the Sri Lankan army pushed its final offensive against ethnic Tamil rebels in the north of the country in a civil war that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.
Pakistani officials said the attack bore all the hallmarks of the November 2008 assault on the Indian city of
SIX TEAM MEMBERS WOUNDED
Sri Lankan officials said six team members -- five players and a coach -- were wounded and that the team was immediately ending its tour of
Assistant coach Paul Farbrace and star batsman Thilan Samaraweera were kept in hospital although their injuries were not believed to be life-threatening, said
Captain Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara, Tharanga Paranavithana and Ajantha Mendis suffered only minor injuries, he said.
Samaraweera is one of
The attack sent shockwaves through the world of cricket and raised doubts about the 2011 World Cup which is due to take place in
"What has happened is very shocking indeed," said N. Srinivasan, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
"We have been saying that there was a lack of security and safety in
The attack cast yet another cloud over cricket in
Last month, security concerns raised by other teams forced the ICC to move the 2009 Champions Trophy out of