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Approximately 25 militants dressed in police uniforms simultaneously attacked three law enforcement agencies in Lahore on Thursday morning, the fifth major attack by militants in Pakistan in the last 10 days.
The regional center of the Federal Investigation Agency and two police training centers were the targets of the assaults that occurred just before 9:30 a.m. in Lahore, the capital of the province of Punjab and Pakistans second most populous city. Police officials said at least 26 deaths had been confirmed so far, including 16 police officers, at least eight militants and two civilians. At least 10 militants attacked an elite police academy and about 10 more stormed a second training center, according to Rana Sanaullah, the Punjab law minister. The coordinated attacks threw parts of Lahore into chaos, and in the capital, Islamabad, officials expressed dismay and surprise that another assault was under way, targeted specifically at the nations struggling law enforcement apparatus. Three synchronized attacks one city signaled that the Pakistani Taliban remained determined despite the death of their leader, Baitullah Mehsud, in an American missile strike in August. The cascade of attacks seemed aimed at undermining the faith of ordinary Pakistanis in the military, the police and the intelligence agencies, said a retired army brigadier, Javaid Hussain. The attacks were succeeding in exposing the weakness of Pakistans intelligence services in the face of surging urban militancy, he said.
The new Taliban leader, Hakimullah Mehsud, was also demonstrating that the Pakistani Taliban remained aligned closely to al Qaeda and were receiving technical training, planning and support for the attacks from al Qaeda, he said. At the training center of the Punjab elite police force, who are known for wearing black T-shirts saying No Fear, three women were among the militants, law enforcement officials said. Six police officers were killed and seven were wounded, the officials said. It was not clear if any of the attackers were killed. About 800 trainees were reported to be inside the training center at the time of the attack. The militants climbed a back wall of the academy, a sprawling complex surrounded by empty fields, said the Lahore police chief, Pervez Rathore. The militants threw grenades at the training center and forced their way into the compound, located about four miles from the Lahore International Airport, police officials said. Police officers and army rangers mounted an assault and exchanged fire for more than two hours. Wounded police trainees were taken by ambulance to hospitals during the gun battle, but the number of injured was not immediately known.
At least 10 people died during the attack at the Federal Investigation Agency building, including four militants, four police officials and two civilians. About 50 officials of the agency were reported stranded on the first floor of the building before security forces ended the siege, according to local television reports, but they had not been taken hostage. An assistant inspector said he heard shooting as he left his post to eat breakfast. I heard firing at around 9:30 and rushed back. The scene was horrific. The duty inspector was dead at the spot, said Ziaullah, the assistant inspector, who gave only one name A witness working near the building said he had seen a man in his 20s, running toward the compound. He started spraying bullets, then there was constant firing for 15 minutes and two low-intensity explosions, Muhammad Aslam, a juice maker, said. At the other police academy in Lahore, militants dressed in police uniforms stormed the building, and army commandos launched an assault about 30 minutes after the attack, police officials said. Two of the militants blew themselves up soon after entering the center, causing casualties among the trainees, they said. Six police officers and two other militants died in that incident. The three attacks in Lahore again demonstrated the strength of the network of Taliban militants that has struck at different key locations throughout Pakistan in recent days.
Courtesy: The Nation!
The regional center of the Federal Investigation Agency and two police training centers were the targets of the assaults that occurred just before 9:30 a.m. in Lahore, the capital of the province of Punjab and Pakistans second most populous city. Police officials said at least 26 deaths had been confirmed so far, including 16 police officers, at least eight militants and two civilians. At least 10 militants attacked an elite police academy and about 10 more stormed a second training center, according to Rana Sanaullah, the Punjab law minister. The coordinated attacks threw parts of Lahore into chaos, and in the capital, Islamabad, officials expressed dismay and surprise that another assault was under way, targeted specifically at the nations struggling law enforcement apparatus. Three synchronized attacks one city signaled that the Pakistani Taliban remained determined despite the death of their leader, Baitullah Mehsud, in an American missile strike in August. The cascade of attacks seemed aimed at undermining the faith of ordinary Pakistanis in the military, the police and the intelligence agencies, said a retired army brigadier, Javaid Hussain. The attacks were succeeding in exposing the weakness of Pakistans intelligence services in the face of surging urban militancy, he said.
The new Taliban leader, Hakimullah Mehsud, was also demonstrating that the Pakistani Taliban remained aligned closely to al Qaeda and were receiving technical training, planning and support for the attacks from al Qaeda, he said. At the training center of the Punjab elite police force, who are known for wearing black T-shirts saying No Fear, three women were among the militants, law enforcement officials said. Six police officers were killed and seven were wounded, the officials said. It was not clear if any of the attackers were killed. About 800 trainees were reported to be inside the training center at the time of the attack. The militants climbed a back wall of the academy, a sprawling complex surrounded by empty fields, said the Lahore police chief, Pervez Rathore. The militants threw grenades at the training center and forced their way into the compound, located about four miles from the Lahore International Airport, police officials said. Police officers and army rangers mounted an assault and exchanged fire for more than two hours. Wounded police trainees were taken by ambulance to hospitals during the gun battle, but the number of injured was not immediately known.
At least 10 people died during the attack at the Federal Investigation Agency building, including four militants, four police officials and two civilians. About 50 officials of the agency were reported stranded on the first floor of the building before security forces ended the siege, according to local television reports, but they had not been taken hostage. An assistant inspector said he heard shooting as he left his post to eat breakfast. I heard firing at around 9:30 and rushed back. The scene was horrific. The duty inspector was dead at the spot, said Ziaullah, the assistant inspector, who gave only one name A witness working near the building said he had seen a man in his 20s, running toward the compound. He started spraying bullets, then there was constant firing for 15 minutes and two low-intensity explosions, Muhammad Aslam, a juice maker, said. At the other police academy in Lahore, militants dressed in police uniforms stormed the building, and army commandos launched an assault about 30 minutes after the attack, police officials said. Two of the militants blew themselves up soon after entering the center, causing casualties among the trainees, they said. Six police officers and two other militants died in that incident. The three attacks in Lahore again demonstrated the strength of the network of Taliban militants that has struck at different key locations throughout Pakistan in recent days.
Courtesy: The Nation!
