Lahore attackers identified
A Pakistani official says authorities have identified the men behind the attack on Sri Lanka's cricket team but declined to name any of the suspects.
Punjab province Gov. Salman Taseer says he will share details in the next few days.
The attack in Lahore on Tuesday killed six police men and a driver and hurt several of the Sri Lankans while underscoring the poor security in country beleaguered by al-Qaeda and Taliban violence.
Taseer also told reporters Thursday that investigators have found a large amount of weapons and made several arrests. He says he did not want to give more details yet because of the situation's sensitivity.
Pakistan investigative agencies are of the view that militants are using Tuesday's attack on the Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore to facilitate the release of Lashkar-e-Taiba commander Zakir-ur-Rehman Lakhvi.
Lakhvi is currently detained at the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi and is facing trial for his alleged role in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
According to sources, investigation agencies are saying that the attack was planned and carried out by a Lashkar operative.
Earlier another Pakistani official admitted that "very vivid" security lapses allowed gunmen to ambush Sri Lanka's cricket team and escape, local media reported yesterday, as investigators chased down leads in hopes of a breakthrough in the case.
The acknowledgment followed allegations by a referee caught up in Tuesday's attack that police abandoned him like a "sitting duck." Video from the area showed the gunmen sauntering down a deserted side street, apparently leaving with no fear of pursuit.
But other Pakistani officials have defended the security measures, noting six policemen guarding the convoy were killed when it was attacked by up to 14 heavily armed men near a stadium in the heart of the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore.
Seven players, an umpire and an assistant coach were wounded. The attack occurred despite government pledges to give the Sri Lankan players and match officials the same level of protection afforded a head of state.
Lahore commissioner Khusro Pervez admitted in an interview with local media that the gunmen should have been battled by ``back-up police support, which didn't arrive.''
"All convoys are provided outer cordons, but in this case the outer cordon did not respond or it was not enough. The vehicles used for escorting the Sri Lankan convoy were not adequate,'' the Dawn newspaper quoted him as saying to a television news show owned by the same media company.
"There are certain security lapses which are very vivid and very clear,'' he said.
The lapse was all the more shocking because Pakistan knew any incident would end, perhaps for years, its hopes of regularly hosting international sporting events. Even before Tuesday's ambush, most teams chose not to visit this cricket-obsessed country because of rising violence by Islamic extremists.
"It is a source of embarrassment at the international level,'' said Ahsan Iqbal, an opposition lawmaker. “This government should be ashamed and make those responsible for criminal negligence in their duties accountable.''
Meanwhile, Pakistan lawmakers Thursday accused the government of a "serious security lapse" over the Sri Lankan cricket attack and cited reports that the authorities were warned of a possible attack.
The foreign relations committee of the Senate, or upper house of parliament, expressed "deep sorrow and regrets" for Tuesday's attack, which left six police and two civilians dead, and seven Sri Lankan cricketers wounded.
It "urged the government to investigate how such a serious lapse of security could occur when there were reports from within the government agencies that such an attack could be in the offing," the committee said in a statement.
The statement followed international criticism over security arrangements in Lahore, where the attack raised questions about the effectiveness of Pakistan's war on Islamic militants.
"This attack has inflicted a serious damage to the image of Pakistan and to the game of cricket in Pakistan," the foreign relations committee said.
Lawmakers urged the government to "fully investigate this crime, trace the terrorists and punish the perpetrators of this crime."
Police have given conflicting accounts of the investigation. One top police official said several suspects had been taken into custody in connection with the attack. Hours later, however, another denied anyone had been detained or even questioned. Officials reached on Thursday said they were pursuing clues in several cities.
Islamic militants were widely suspected in the attack, but authorities did not explicitly say that.
Pakistan has a web of extremist networks, some with links to al-Qaeda and the Taliban, that have attacked foreign civilians in a bid to destabilize the government and punish it for supporting the US-led invasion of Afghanistan.
Referee Chris Broad was travelling in a van in the same convoy as the Sri Lankan team bus when the attackers opened fire with automatic weapons, grenades and at least one rocket launcher, killing his driver and critically wounding a fellow official.
"There was not a sign of a policeman anywhere,'' Broad said Wednesday after flying back to Britain. ``They had clearly left the scene and left us to be sitting ducks.''
He did not say how he managed to escape. Other witnesses described police trading fire with the gunmen for about 15 minutes, but at least one of the Sri Lankan players said the attackers appeared to fire at will at the bus.
"They were not under pressure ... nobody was firing at them,'' team captain Mahela Jayawardene said after returning to Sri Lanka.
Players said their bus stopped for around 90 seconds while under attack, before the driver stepped on the gas and drove them to the safety of the stadium. Broad and the players said Pakistani officials had promised to give them ``presidential style'' security as part of efforts to convince them to make the trip.
"I am extremely angry we were promised high-level security and in our hour of need that security vanished and we were left just open to anything,'' Broad said.
Several Pakistani officials denied that, as did the country's top cricket official.
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