Pakistan: Deadly Attack On Sri Lankan Cricket Team

Twelve masked men attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team at Lahore, Pakistan, Tuesday seriously injuring some players and killing a few policemen guarding them.

( The attack bore the hallmarks of the same militants that carried out the attack on Mumbai in November, a senior Pakistan official said on Tuesday.) More here…

The AFP quoted the police chief that it was likely the work of “well-trained terrorists”. He said five policemen were killed in the gun attack which also wounded at least three Sri Lankan players.

(Here are some eyewitness accounts…)

Lahore police chief Habib-ur Rehman said 12 gunmen attacked the convoy near Lahore’s Gaddafi stadium with rockets, hand grenades and automatic weapons and were involved in a 25-minute shoot-out with the security forces. More here…

Here is the BBC story with a video clip…

Australia’s cricketers have expressed their relief after the planned tour to Pakistan was postponed amid serious security concerns. More here…

In 2002, a bomb exploded in Karachi while the New Zealand cricket team were touring, killing 13 people including 11 French navy experts, recalls The Independent. “The tourists, based at the Pearl Continental Hotel, were preparing to depart for the National Stadium for the start of a match when a car exploded outside the nearby Karachi Sheraton. New Zealand called off the tour within hours of the attack.” See here…

Meanwhile militants have blown up a girls’ school in Pakistan…See here