03 March,2009 12:17 PM IST | | Agencies
Six members of the Sri Lankan cricket team --u00a0Thilan Samaraweera, Ajantha Mendis, Mahela Jayawardene, Kumara Sangakkara, Chaminda Vaasu00a0and Thilan Tharanga --u00a0were injured in an attack by unidentified gunmen here today. The attack took place at Liberty Chowk in the heart of the Lahore city.
Ace spinner Muttiah Muralitharan is reported to be safe.
| Players' condition Two of the players are in the hospital... > Thilan Samaraweera, who was reportedly shot in the chest,u00a0is being operated upon > Ajantha Mendis is also in the hospital The other four who sustained injuries have been taken back to the hotel. Of them > Kumara Sangakkara was reportedly shot in the shoulder > Mahela Jayawardene sustained an ankle injury |
About 12u00a0gunmen, wearing masks,u00a0attacked the cavalcade taking the team from the hotel where they are staying to the Gaddafi stadium where the Pakistan vs Sri Lanka cricket test match was taking place.
They surrounded the team bus and opened fire indiscriminately for two to three minutes. The attackers then started firing atu00a0the police van providing security to the Lankan team. They also fired atu00a0the vehicle carrying the umpires.
Sevenu00a0policemenu00a0and two civilians were also killed in the firing. One PCB member was among those injured.
"The bus came under attack as we were driving to the stadium, the gunmen targeted the wheels of the bus first and then the bus," Mahela Jayawardene told Cricinfo. "We all dived to the floor to take cover. About five players have been injured and also Paul Farbrace [a member of the support staff]."
'We are shocked'
Sanath Jayasuriya told the Indian media that the incident in pakistan was very unfortunate. "Our cricketers have injuries, but they are OK. But the players are shocked. They have never gone through anything like this before," said the former Sri Lankan player, who is in Colombo.
He added that even in conflict-torn Sri Lanka, cricketers never became the target.
Grenades lobbed
Apart from firing at the team, grenades were lobbed at the Lankan team bus. "The Sri lankan team was heading towards the stadium when two loud blasts were heard followed by firing on the convoy. The injured players were rushed to the hospital," said, the head of security at Gaddafi Stadium.
The police and security forces have cordoned off the area. The police chief said they recovered heavy weaponry, including rocket launchers and grenades. Calling the attackers "well-trained terrorists", Habib-ur Rehman said the police battled against the assailants for about 25 minutes.
Punjab Governor Salmaan Tahseer said, "They are the same people who attacked Mumbai. It's a Mumbai-like operation. These were trained killers and are not ordinary criminals."
Au00a0massive operation is underway to capture the terrorists, while the team has been moved into a high security zone.
Pakistani invited Sri Lanka to tour after India's cricket team pulled out of a scheduled cricket tour following the deadly November attacks in Mumbai.
Theu00a0tour has now been officially called off. Sri Lanka has recalled the teamu00a0immediately. The injured players will also be flown back as soon as possible.
