Militants kill nine cops in Lahore

Unidentified gunmen stormed into a private hostel of policemen in Lahore where they were sleeping, killing at least nine cops and injuring another nine.

In fresh wave of militancy in Punjab, it was second attack in three days on security personnel that raises fears in the provincial metropolis. Lahore has been largely peaceful over the last year.

According to the reports the insurgents arrived on motorbikes and targeted a building in the densely populated areas of Ichra, where up to 35 police and prison staff were residing.

It is vital to mention here that mostly officers were in Lahore for training and belonged to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Lahore Police chief Aslam Tareen while talking to the media said that the attackers came early in the morning, entered in the building and open fires on cops.

He observed, “Nine were martyred and nine others are wounded. There was no immediate claim of responsibility”.

He further said that the attackers managed to escape the crime scene and the law enforcement agencies started investigations of the attack.

On Monday, at least eight security personnel lost their lives after an assault on a Pakistan Army camp in Wazirabad, an area where violence is rare, and the Pakistan Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

Following the first attack, they not only accepted the responsibility but also threatened to carry out more assaults on security forces and government installations.

According to a pamphlet the law enforcement agencies found at the site of Monday’s attack, it warned that more attacks would be carried out by militants if NATO supply routes to Afghanistan were not closed.

A media report quoting another intelligent report said that militants linked with banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), who were involved in an attack on security personnel at Pir Chambal, were planning more attacks in major cities.

Spokesperson TTP Ehsanullah Ehsan while talking to media warned the government that their attacks will continue everywhere in the country, particularly in Punjab.

Such attacks are more common in northwest Pakistan, home to the Taliban, but rare in Punjab. Some extremist groups are based in the poorer southern part of Punjab, but are not known to attack security forces.

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Posted by Faisal Farooq on Jul 12 2012. Filed under Latest News, National, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.