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Lahore terror 3/3
Attacks SL Cricket
Masked terrorists fire at bus near Liberty market
Chris DHAMBARAGE in Lahore, Pakistan
Sri Lankan cricket officials said six team members, five players and
a coach were wounded during yesterday’s attack on the team bus which was
heading towards the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore for the commencement of
the third day’s play in the Second Test match against Pakistan.
The Sri Lanka team also decided to cancel their tour of Pakistan
immediately and was expected to return home last evening. The team was
airlifted to a nearby Air Force Base in Lahore before flying to Colombo
on a special flight.
 Assistant coach Paul Farbrace and middle order batsman Thilan
Samaraweera were kept at the Services Hospital before joining the team
although their injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.
Jayawardene received a cut to the ankle while Sangakkara was injured in
the shoulder.
Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga Paranavitana were the ones most
seriously injured; Samaraweera received shrapnel in the leg and
Paranavitana in the chest. Ajantha Mendis received shrapnel in the neck
and scalp.
Skipper Mahela Jayawardene said that the bus they were travelling
came under heavy attack as they were driving to the Gaddafi stadium. The
gunmen targeted the wheels of the bus first and then the bus as the
players dived to the floor to take cover.
Vice captain Kumar Sangakkara said that he had shrapnel injuries in
his shoulder and they have all been removed. He said Ajantha Mendis also
had shrapnel in his neck and scalp and has had medical attention and is
fine.
Samaraweera had completed his second successive double hundred in
this match that helped Sri Lanka pile up a massive 606 runs in their
first innings. Samaraweera also became only the seventh batsmen in Test
cricket to notch up a double hundred in consecutive matches.
Haroon Lorgat, the ICC Chief Executive, confirmed that the remainder
of the tour had been cancelled and noted with dismay and regrets the sad
events in Lahore while condemning this attack without reservation.
Reserve umpire Ahsan Raza was also injured in the attack. Nadeem
Ghauri, the TV umpire, who was travelling in a bus behind the Sri Lanka
team’s bus said the firing continued for some time. Umpire Steve Davis,
who was on the team bus, called the terrorist attack “terrible”. “I’m
lost for words,” he said.
Heavily armed masked gunmen opened fire on the Sri Lankan cricket
team’s bus in Lahore yesterday while killing at least eight people and
wounding six team members, police said.
Around 12 gunmen launched an attack on the team’s convoy near the
Liberty round about at the Gaddafi stadium with rockets, hand grenades
and automatic weapons, triggering a 25-minute gun battle with the
security forces.
The incident occurred as the team was heading for the third day’s
play in the second test match against Pakistan. Lahore Police Chief
Habib-ur Rehman said that the gunmen appeared to be well-trained
terrorists.
A police officials also confirmed that two civilians and six police
officers who were guarding the players were killed in the attack.
Television footage showed several gunmen creeping through trees,
crouching to aim their weapons and then running onto the next target.
Crystals of broken glass littered the road next to a gun cartridge
and an empty rocket propelled grenade launcher. A police motorbike was
shown crashed sideways into the road at the Liberty roundabout.
Bullet holes ripped through the windscreen of another vehicle and a
white car was shown smashed headlong into the roundabout as nervous
security officers guarded the site.
Pakistani officials gave no details about the fate of the gunmen who
they said arrived at the scene in rickshaws. There was no immediate
claim of responsibility for the attack but fears of attacks by militants
linked to Al-Qaeda have caused many teams to postpone or cancel cricket
tours to Pakistan in recent years.
The attack cast another dark cloud over Pakistan cricket which has
been reeling from a string of cancelled tours and tournaments. |
