Gunmen shoot Sri Lanka cricketers

[colmquinn]

Gunmen shoot Sri Lanka cricketers
Gunmen have attacked a bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team on its way to play in the Pakistani city of Lahore.

At least five policemen escorting the team bus were killed, along with a driver. Seven cricketers and an assistant coach were injured.

Pakistani officials said about 12 gunmen were involved and grenades and rocket launchers have been recovered.

Officials said the incident bore similarities to deadly attacks in Mumbai in India last November.

The Mumbai attacks were blamed on Pakistan-based Islamic militants.
Pakistani cricket was already suffering from serious security concerns.

Pakistan invited Sri Lanka to tour only after India's cricket team pulled out of a scheduled cricket tour on security grounds, following the Mumbai attacks.

And International Cricket Council president David Morgan told the BBC it would be "very difficult for international cricket to be hosted in Pakistan for quite some time to come".
Evacuation

Reports suggest 10 to 12 gunmen ambushed the team coach and its accompanying police detail on the Liberty Square roundabout in the heart of Lahore, as the convoy was on the way to the Gaddafi stadium for a Test match.
The BBC's Barbara Plett in Islamabad says accounts suggest the attack was sophisticated in nature, with one group of gunmen firing a rocket-propelled grenade in order to create a diversion, while others then approached, firing guns on the convoy.

She says the gunmen - two of whom were shown in TV pictures carrying backpacks - seemed to be well-trained.
The Sri Lankan wicketkeeper Kumar Sangakkara told Australia's ABC radio that he and his team mates probably owed their lives to their bus driver.

"Suddenly everyone just said hit the deck, quick, someone's shooting. And we just hit the floor of the bus and stayed there and we heard the bullets hitting the bus and a few explosions," he said.

"But, you know, we had an amazing driver who just kept driving the bus straight through all of that to the ground and that's probably what saved us."

Officials in Lahore said two members of the Sri Lankan team, Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga Paranavitana, were sent to hospital. Another five received minor wounds, as well as assistant coach Paul Farbrace.

None of the attackers was killed or apprehended at the scene. Grenades and rocket launchers were found there, police said, and a manhunt is under way.

Our correspondent says security forces will be investigating any connections to al-Qaeda and Taleban militants as well as Kashmiri jihadi groups.

A Pakistani air force helicopter has now airlifted uninjured members of the Sri Lankan team out of the Gaddafi Stadium.

Full article here with video of the attack http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7920260.stm

[Sionnach Glic]

Why cricketers?

[Aaron]

Why cricketers?

Cricket is the game of the Lesser Satan (UK)?

[Captain Seafort]

The Indians and the Pakistanis are obsessed with the game - far more so than England. However, this attack wasn't really aimed at the Sri Lankans so much as the Pakistani state - it shows just how poor their control of the country is, and will strike a severe psychological blow by ending all international sporting tours of the country for the foreseeable future.

[Granitehewer]

exactly, colombo only really has deep enemity with the tamil tigers, who are predominantly hindu and rarely launch any offensive outside of tamil nadu strongholds

[Captain Seafort]

You might find the Tigers going back to their old tricks of suicide attack left right and centre, now that they're getting hammered by the Lankan army. There have been suggestions that they were behind this, although the MO is apparantly closer to that of the various Kashmiri groups.

[Granitehewer]

quite likely a north west province madrassa is involved, maybe in peshewar with heavy membership of pashtuns.
Am glad i turned down a trip to Lahore and Jelum due to my poverty lol

[Captain Seafort]

It's unlikely to be one of the FATA crowd - they're usually a lot less organised than this. Plus there's the fact that Lahore is LeT HQ.

[Granitehewer]

Lashkar-e-Taiba can work with the tribals, there has been alot of cooperation recently, i haven't investigated the story yet so will refrain from forming a conclusion yet, but improbable that the jammu kashmir liberation front is involved per se, at least not in its mainstream form but possibly a splinter group.

[Graham Kennedy]

Why cricketers?

Headlines.

[Sionnach Glic]

Hm, I was unaware cricket was so popular over there. I suppose it'd be like if someone did the same to the players of Manchester United, or something, in which case it'd be quite a high-profile target.

[Captain Seafort]

Not quite - in this case the fact that the untermensch mostly missed is a good thing.

[Sionnach Glic]

Ah, I stand corrected.

[IanKennedy]

My first thought when I read the title was that this happened on the pitch, which while still vile would certainly enliven the game a lot.