Terror in Pakistan; 7 dead in attack on Sri Lankan cricket team

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Six policemen and a driver were killed in Pakistan Tuesday when at least a dozen men armed with rifles, grenades and rocket launchers staged a furious assault on Sri Lanka's visiting cricket team as they made their way to the stadium for a test match against Pakistan.

The attack touched off a 15-minute gun battle with police that began just as a convoy carrying the squad and match officials reached a traffic circle 100 metres from the main sports stadium in the eastern city of Lahore.

Seven players, an umpire and a coach were wounded, none with life-threatening injuries, in what was being described as one of the worst terrorist attacks on a sports team since Palestinian militants killed 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics.

Tuesday's attackers melted away into the city, and none was killed or captured, said city police chief Haji Habibur Rehman.

Authorities did not speculate on the identities of the attackers or their motives, but the chief suspects will be Islamist militants, some with links to al-Qaeda, who have staged high-profile attacks on civilian targets before.

The bus driver, Mohammad Khalil, accelerated as bullets ripped into the vehicle and explosions rocked the air, steering the team to the safety of the stadium. The players, some of them wounded, ducked down and shouted "Go! Go!" as he drove through the ambush.

The attack reinforced perceptions that nuclear-armed Pakistan is veering out of control under terrorist assault.

The head of Pakistan's Interior Ministry, Rehman Malik, said the country is in a state of war and voewed Tuesday to "flush out all these terrorists from this country."

Sri Lanka had agreed to this tour, allowing Pakistan to host its first test matches in 14 months, only after India and Australia backed out of scheduled trips over security concerns. The assault will end hopes of international cricket teams or any sports teams playing in the country for months, if not years.

Tuesday's attack came three months after the Mumbai terror strikes that killed 164 people. Those raids, allegedly carried out by Pakistan militants, bore similiarities to the assault in Lahore. Both were co-ordinated attacks by multiple gunmen, apparently in teams of two, armed with explosives and assault rifles with little fear of death or capture.

Authorities will also consider possible links to Sri Lanka's Tamil Tiger separatist rebels, who are being badly hit in a military offensive at home, though Sri Lankan military spokesman Brig. Udaya Nanayakkara said it was unlikely the group was involved.

Authorities canceled the test match against Pakistan's national team, and Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa ordered his foreign minister to immediately travel to Pakistan to help assist in the team's evacuation.

In a statement from London The International Cricket Council (ICC) said it will be difficult for international cricket to return to Pakistan in the foreseeable future.

The ruling body is also reviewing Pakistan's status as co-host of the 2011 one-day World Cup. "The situation currently as it is in Pakistan, there will be a
great reluctance from cricketers to return there," David Morgan, chairman of the International Cricket Council, told reporters at a news conference.