ID :
48714
Tue, 03/03/2009 - 16:45
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/48714
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Sri Lankan cricket team attacked; tour called off
Lahore, Mar 3 (PTI) At least 12 terrorists armed with
rifles and rocket launchers Tuesday targeted the touring Sri
Lankan cricket team as they were on their way to Gaddafi
Stadium here, killing five escorting policemen and injuring
six players, two of them with bullet wounds.
Immediately after the attack, the Sri Lankan
government called off the tour.
Among the players injured are Kumar Sangakkara,
Ajantha Mendis, Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga Paranavitana,
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials said.
While Samaraweera and Paranavitana receive bullet
wounds, the others besides the head coach Trevor Bayliss
received minor injuries. They are all being treated at a
hospital, Sri Lankan officials said.
City police chief Haji Habibur Rehman said one of the
players was hit in the leg while the other received a bullet
in the chest but their injuries were not life threatening.
"It was a terrorist attack and terrorists used rocket
launchers, hand grenades and other weapons," Rehman said,
adding a hunt was on to track down the 12 terrorists involved
in the shooting.
The Sri Lankan players were on their way to the
stadium for the third day's play of the second Test match when
the terrorists fired from different directions at their bus in
the busy Liberty chowk located less than a km from the
stadium, they said.
"There were 12 masked gunmen....They appeared to be
well-trained terrorists. They came in rickshaws. They were
armed with rockets, hand grenades and kalashnikovs," Rehman
said.
"The firing took place from at least four sides and
continued for some minutes," a police official said. The
police battled with the terrorists for about 25 minutes, he
said.
The attackers later escaped in separate groups.
One explosion was also heard at the stadium.
Five policemen escorting the players were killed in
the shootout while some shots hit the cricket team's bus, the
police chief said, adding several policemen were also injured
in the attack.
TV channels aired footage of at least two of the
gunmen, one of them wearing salwar kameez and other jeans and
a jacket. Both were armed with assault rifles and carrying
backpacks.
Police cordoned off the area immediately after the
attack and launched a search for the gunmen. The driver of the
cricket team's bus drove away from the spot after the firing
started.
"We are assessing the situation," PCB chief Ejaz Butt
said.
The liaison officer of the Pakistan team said players
of the host nation have been sent back to the hotel.
Sources claimed that the police had received a threat
yesterday that the Sri Lankan team would be attacked so a
different route was used to transport the team to the stadium.
PTI
rifles and rocket launchers Tuesday targeted the touring Sri
Lankan cricket team as they were on their way to Gaddafi
Stadium here, killing five escorting policemen and injuring
six players, two of them with bullet wounds.
Immediately after the attack, the Sri Lankan
government called off the tour.
Among the players injured are Kumar Sangakkara,
Ajantha Mendis, Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga Paranavitana,
Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officials said.
While Samaraweera and Paranavitana receive bullet
wounds, the others besides the head coach Trevor Bayliss
received minor injuries. They are all being treated at a
hospital, Sri Lankan officials said.
City police chief Haji Habibur Rehman said one of the
players was hit in the leg while the other received a bullet
in the chest but their injuries were not life threatening.
"It was a terrorist attack and terrorists used rocket
launchers, hand grenades and other weapons," Rehman said,
adding a hunt was on to track down the 12 terrorists involved
in the shooting.
The Sri Lankan players were on their way to the
stadium for the third day's play of the second Test match when
the terrorists fired from different directions at their bus in
the busy Liberty chowk located less than a km from the
stadium, they said.
"There were 12 masked gunmen....They appeared to be
well-trained terrorists. They came in rickshaws. They were
armed with rockets, hand grenades and kalashnikovs," Rehman
said.
"The firing took place from at least four sides and
continued for some minutes," a police official said. The
police battled with the terrorists for about 25 minutes, he
said.
The attackers later escaped in separate groups.
One explosion was also heard at the stadium.
Five policemen escorting the players were killed in
the shootout while some shots hit the cricket team's bus, the
police chief said, adding several policemen were also injured
in the attack.
TV channels aired footage of at least two of the
gunmen, one of them wearing salwar kameez and other jeans and
a jacket. Both were armed with assault rifles and carrying
backpacks.
Police cordoned off the area immediately after the
attack and launched a search for the gunmen. The driver of the
cricket team's bus drove away from the spot after the firing
started.
"We are assessing the situation," PCB chief Ejaz Butt
said.
The liaison officer of the Pakistan team said players
of the host nation have been sent back to the hotel.
Sources claimed that the police had received a threat
yesterday that the Sri Lankan team would be attacked so a
different route was used to transport the team to the stadium.
PTI
