Security personnel killed in Pakistan raid

Eight police and prison staff shot dead after gunmen storm a building in the eastern city of Lahore. Last Modified: 12 Jul 2012 04:00

Gunmen have shot dead eight Pakistani police and prison staff, and wounded nine others after storming a building in the eastern city of Lahore where they were sleeping, police said. Thursday's raid was the second attack in three days on security personnel in the province of Punjab, raising fears of a fresh wave of violence in the political heartland of Pakistan away from the northwest where a Taliban insurgency is based. The attackers arrived on motorbikes and targeted a building in the densely populated area of Ichra, where up to 35 police and prison staff were living, mostly officers from the troubled northwest who were in Lahore for training. "The gunmen came early in the morning, entered the building and opened fire," Lahore police chief Aslam Tareen told the AFP news agency. "Eight were martyred and nine others are wounded". The gunmen fled and there was no immediate claim of responsibility. Pakistan is battling an insurgency in its northwest tribal region, but attacks in Punjab and Lahore - the country's political heartland - have been rare in recent months. But on Monday, gunmen shot dead seven security personnel at an army camp less than 150km southeast of Islamabad, again arriving by motorbike, opening fire and then fleeing. One senior security official told AFP it was "highly likely" that the attackers belonged to a banned organisation in league with the Taliban.

Source: Agencies