Pakistani security forces took control of a police academy in Lahore yesterday after militants rampaged through the center’s parade ground, killing up to 20 people before holing up inside for hours.
“The operation is over. Four terrorists were killed and three arrested,” Pakistani Interior Ministry Secretary Kamal Shah said.
He said 89 policemen were wounded but the number killed was still being determined.
Islamist militants have launched a campaign of violence to destabilize the Muslim country of 170 million people and the one-year-old civilian government’s ability to meet the challenge.
TV news channels showed jubilant police shouting praise to God and firing in the air soon after an intense burst of firing inside the academy.
Punjab Province Governor Salman Taseer said authorities had reports of four people confirmed killed, although TV news channels put the number of dead at 20, including cadets.
“It was like doomsday; it was every man to himself. Every boy was trying to race to safety,” one young cadet with bandaged hands told reporters at a hospital.
One policeman described how the attackers struck while police recruits were going through their regular morning drill on the parade ground in the eastern city.
“A grenade hit the platoon next to ours ... then there was continuous firing for about 20 minutes,” the policeman told reporters gathered round his hospital bed.
“A man in light-colored clothes — I think they were white — stood in front of us, firing at us. They wanted to do as much damage as possible,” he said.
Between eight and 10 militants attacked the recruits as they performed a regular drill on the parade ground at about 7:30am and then went on to occupy the academy’s main building.
At about 4pm, commandos launched an operation to retake the building, said Major-General Shafqaat Ali, who described it as a joint operation by the army, paramilitary rangers and a police squad.
“Our forces stormed the top floor where they were holding positions,” Ali said. “The operation is over the building is in our control.”
“We have arrested some terrorists. We are interrogating them. One is a Pashtu speaker — a young person,” Interior ministry chief Rehman Malik told the private Geo TV station in a telephone interview.
“Four terrorists were killed,” he said, denying charges that law enforcement had broken down.
“It is wrong to say that law and order has collapsed in Pakistan. We are very near to [tracing] the attackers involved in this,” he said.
“It is a planned, organized, terrorist attack. This shows the extent to which the enemies of our country can go. We have to fight with unity. Hostile elements have to be eliminated with unity,” the interior ministry chief said.
The siege lasted nearly eight hours, with security forces firing from rooftops of nearby buildings, while gunmen returned fire and threw grenades.
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