Terrorists attack Lankan players in Lahore
03 Mar 2009
Unidentified gunmen opened fire on a bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team to Gaddafi stadium in Lahore, killing five Pakistani police escorts and injuring around half a dozen of the players.
TV footage showed showed gunmen with rifles and backpacks running and firing at vehicles at random on the roads.
According to reports, a dozen gunmen attacked the bus with Kalasnikovs and grenade launchers that led to the death of the five escorting Pakistani policemen, and injuring five Sri Lankan players, an umpire and an assistant coach.
Lahore Police chief Habib-ur-Rehman told the TV media that five people were killed in the attack by the unidentified assailants, firing AK 47s, rockets and grenades en route to the stadium.
Rehman said that the entire city of Lahore had been sealed and search operations were underway to nab the gunmen, who he said appeared very young and seemed to have been from Pakistan's FATA area.
The injured players have been hospitalised and the remaining players were rushed to the security of their hotel.
Sri Lanka, which had been invited by Pakistan after India pulled out on security concerns following the Mumbai attacks in November, has cancelled the rest of the tour.
