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LAHORE: At least 13 people, including four police trainees and two instructors, were killed and another 100 wounded in eight hours of gunbattles with armed assailants who had captured a police training school on the outskirts of Lahore during a general Monday morning drill. The security personnel, led by the army, retook the school after a tense drama that ended around 03:30 p.m.
The chief of Tehrik-i-Taliban, Baitullah Mehsud, on Tuesday took responsibility for the attack.
'Yes, we have carried out this attack. I will give details later,' Mehsud, an al Qaeda-linked leader based in the Waziristan tribal region told Reuters by telephone.
Security forces had captured an alleged assailant said to be of Afghan origins from the near-by fields a couple of hours before the school was secured. Two hand-grenades, a knife, a walkie-talkie set and a passport in his name were recovered from him. Another three attackers blew themselves up to avoid arrest when the security forces launched the final operation to secure the centre in the afternoon. Private TV channels reported that 40 suspects have been arrested from the Dinnur district of Dera Ismail Khan as of Tuesday morning.
Three men suspected to be involved in the attack were also taken into custody when they were trying to escape from the building premises in police uniforms. They were removed to an unidentified place for interrogation.
There were contradictory reports about the number of attackers, as no two post-event accounts, even those which came from the government officials, matched. Eye-witnesses claimed that at least 10 men had attacked the police school, located on the GT Road at the Manawan village, a few kilometres from the Wagha border with India. But senior police officers, who took part in the operation, said it was unclear as to how many gunmen were involved.
Theres a strong possibility that some of them might have left the place after helping their fellow attackers capture the building by throwing hand-grenades at the trainees in the morning, a police official told Dawn.
The injured were shifted to the hospitals for treatment. But none of them will be allowed to leave without security check as the investigators suspected some assailants might have mingled with them in order to escape arrest.
Malik said the Afghan suspect belonged to the outfit of Baitullah Mehsud, adding the planning for the assault was done in the tribal areas. He did not rule out the involvement of a foreign hand, saying all these terrorist outfits were receiving weapons and funds from outside the country. He said the attack was impeccably planned.
Security forces recaptured the police centre only after sustained heavy firing that continued for several hours. The troops on the ground were aided by heavy firing from an army helicopter during the final shootout with the attackers.
The assault on the three-storey police school came in less than one month of a terrorist attack on the visiting Sri Lankan cricketers at Liberty. Up to 12 terrorists were said to have been involved in the Liberty attack, in which six Lankan cricketers were injured and six policemen and a minibus driver were killed. The police are yet to arrest the perpetrators of that attack.
About 780 police trainees and 100 school staff instructors, policemen, cooks, etc, were present inside the centre when the attack came.
Eyewitnesses said the attackers launched their assault by throwing hand-grenades from different sides of the centres building and opening indiscriminate firing on the trainees drilling in the parade ground.
The attack panicked the trainees and their instructors as they ran for cover. Many managed to scale the outer walls to escape. Others rushed inside the building before the assailants took many as hostage before digging in for a long fight. Eye-witnesses said the gunmen did not face any resistance before taking over the control of the school because of inadequate security arrangements. There were reports that the assailants had also taken control of the arms store inside, fuelling fear among people.
Police reinforcement reached the scene after some time. Elite force, Rangers and army were also called in for help. The school and the area surrounding it was cordoned off and the Rangers and elite force troops were deployed on the rooftops of near-by buildings.
Four surveillance helicopters continued to monitor the movements and positions of the gunmen.
Security forces used armoured personnel carriers (APC) to remove the bodies and rescue the injured and others trapped inside the building. It took security forces around eight hours to rescue the people stuck inside. About 20 hostages could be rescued only after the attackers had been overpowered. At least two policemen, including an ASP and an APC driver, received injuries while rescuing the people during the cross-fire between the security forces and the gunmen.
Lahore GOC Maj. Gen. Shafqat Ahmed told reporters that the gunmen were restricted to the schools top floor as result of the joint rescue operation of the army, Rangers and elite police force. He said the security forces had recovered hand-grenades, small weapons and some explosives from the scene.
Police celebrated their successful operation by firing into the air on the rooftop. Locals in the neighbourhood, who had a harrowing day, joined in. The policemen were hoisted on the shoulders, there were slogans in favour of the army, the rangers and the police and a procession ensued.
Several hundred civilians poured in from close-by localities to watch the operation despite the curfew-like conditions in the area. The worried families of the police trainees and others trapped inside the school also arrived and emotional scenes were witnessed. Residents of the area stood on their rooftops despite intermittent cross-firing.
The GT Road was clogged as it was closed for traffic coming from either side.
DAWN.COM | + Pakistan | Baitullah claims responsibility for Manawan attack
The chief of Tehrik-i-Taliban, Baitullah Mehsud, on Tuesday took responsibility for the attack.
'Yes, we have carried out this attack. I will give details later,' Mehsud, an al Qaeda-linked leader based in the Waziristan tribal region told Reuters by telephone.
Security forces had captured an alleged assailant said to be of Afghan origins from the near-by fields a couple of hours before the school was secured. Two hand-grenades, a knife, a walkie-talkie set and a passport in his name were recovered from him. Another three attackers blew themselves up to avoid arrest when the security forces launched the final operation to secure the centre in the afternoon. Private TV channels reported that 40 suspects have been arrested from the Dinnur district of Dera Ismail Khan as of Tuesday morning.
Three men suspected to be involved in the attack were also taken into custody when they were trying to escape from the building premises in police uniforms. They were removed to an unidentified place for interrogation.
There were contradictory reports about the number of attackers, as no two post-event accounts, even those which came from the government officials, matched. Eye-witnesses claimed that at least 10 men had attacked the police school, located on the GT Road at the Manawan village, a few kilometres from the Wagha border with India. But senior police officers, who took part in the operation, said it was unclear as to how many gunmen were involved.
Theres a strong possibility that some of them might have left the place after helping their fellow attackers capture the building by throwing hand-grenades at the trainees in the morning, a police official told Dawn.
The injured were shifted to the hospitals for treatment. But none of them will be allowed to leave without security check as the investigators suspected some assailants might have mingled with them in order to escape arrest.
Malik said the Afghan suspect belonged to the outfit of Baitullah Mehsud, adding the planning for the assault was done in the tribal areas. He did not rule out the involvement of a foreign hand, saying all these terrorist outfits were receiving weapons and funds from outside the country. He said the attack was impeccably planned.
Security forces recaptured the police centre only after sustained heavy firing that continued for several hours. The troops on the ground were aided by heavy firing from an army helicopter during the final shootout with the attackers.
The assault on the three-storey police school came in less than one month of a terrorist attack on the visiting Sri Lankan cricketers at Liberty. Up to 12 terrorists were said to have been involved in the Liberty attack, in which six Lankan cricketers were injured and six policemen and a minibus driver were killed. The police are yet to arrest the perpetrators of that attack.
About 780 police trainees and 100 school staff instructors, policemen, cooks, etc, were present inside the centre when the attack came.
Eyewitnesses said the attackers launched their assault by throwing hand-grenades from different sides of the centres building and opening indiscriminate firing on the trainees drilling in the parade ground.
The attack panicked the trainees and their instructors as they ran for cover. Many managed to scale the outer walls to escape. Others rushed inside the building before the assailants took many as hostage before digging in for a long fight. Eye-witnesses said the gunmen did not face any resistance before taking over the control of the school because of inadequate security arrangements. There were reports that the assailants had also taken control of the arms store inside, fuelling fear among people.
Police reinforcement reached the scene after some time. Elite force, Rangers and army were also called in for help. The school and the area surrounding it was cordoned off and the Rangers and elite force troops were deployed on the rooftops of near-by buildings.
Four surveillance helicopters continued to monitor the movements and positions of the gunmen.
Security forces used armoured personnel carriers (APC) to remove the bodies and rescue the injured and others trapped inside the building. It took security forces around eight hours to rescue the people stuck inside. About 20 hostages could be rescued only after the attackers had been overpowered. At least two policemen, including an ASP and an APC driver, received injuries while rescuing the people during the cross-fire between the security forces and the gunmen.
Lahore GOC Maj. Gen. Shafqat Ahmed told reporters that the gunmen were restricted to the schools top floor as result of the joint rescue operation of the army, Rangers and elite police force. He said the security forces had recovered hand-grenades, small weapons and some explosives from the scene.
Police celebrated their successful operation by firing into the air on the rooftop. Locals in the neighbourhood, who had a harrowing day, joined in. The policemen were hoisted on the shoulders, there were slogans in favour of the army, the rangers and the police and a procession ensued.
Several hundred civilians poured in from close-by localities to watch the operation despite the curfew-like conditions in the area. The worried families of the police trainees and others trapped inside the school also arrived and emotional scenes were witnessed. Residents of the area stood on their rooftops despite intermittent cross-firing.
The GT Road was clogged as it was closed for traffic coming from either side.
DAWN.COM | + Pakistan | Baitullah claims responsibility for Manawan attack
