By IANS,
Lahore/Colombo : Five escorting security personnel were killed and at least six Sri Lankan cricketers injured Tuesday when heavily armed gunmen attacked the team cavalcade when it was on its way to the Gaddafi stadium in the Pakistani city of Lahore for the ongoing Test.
Sri Lanka called off the tour and immediately recalled its team after the attack, which Punjab Governor Salman Taseer said was the handiwork of the same terrorists who struck in Mumbai in November last year.
“It was a planned terrorist act on the pattern of the attack on Mumbai. I believe the same terrorists are involved in both the incidents,” Taseer told reporters.
“The team is being sent back immediately,” Sri Lankan embassy official Chamara Ranaweera told IANS.
The team bus, which came under attack at the Liberty crossing close to the stadium where the squad was going for the third day’s play in the second Test from their hotel, was riddled with bullets after the attack.
Pakistan Cricket Board sources said the van carrying the match umpires also came under attack, leaving the umpires’ liaison officer Abdul Sami injured. One of the umpires Ahsan Raza is also said to be critically injured.
Lahore police chief Habibur Rehman said 12 terrorists armed with rocket launchers and hand grenades carried out the attack and the exchange of fire lasted for about 25 minutes.
“The attackers had come by rickshaws,” he told reporters, confirming that five security personnel, including two commandos, escorting the team had been killed.
He said one Sri Lankan team member was hit on the chest while another was hit on the leg. Two had been operated upon and were out of danger.
The injured players include Captain Mahela Jayawardena, Kumar Sangakkara, Ajantha Mendis, Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga Paranavithana, police sources said. Reports suggested that the sixth was Chaminda Vaas.
In Colombo, there was concern and worry.
Sri Lankan Foreign Secretary P. Kohona said he had spoken to the Pakistani authorities and had been assured of all help.
“My understanding is that the injuries are not serious, they are superficial. The cricketers are valuable assets of the country, they are the pride and joy of the country,” he told a television channel.
“It is appalling that anybody should have targeted a sporting team in such a brutal manner. The attitude of targeting sportsmen must change,” he added, stating that the players would be back on the first available commercial flight.
“Six of our players were wounded during the shooting incident targeting the Test team travelling to the match venue at Lahore. We are very concerned about this incident,” Sports Minister Gamini Lokuge said in Colombo.
The minister said the players, other than Thilan Samaraweera and the team’s assistant coach, had been discharged from the hospital after being treated for their injuries.
Father of the outgoing team skipper Mahela Jayawardene said his son had called his wife from Lahore to say that he too had suffered minor injuries in his leg during the attack that had shocked the nation.
The Sri Lankan team was in Pakistan to play in place of India that had pulled out of the series after the Nov 26-29 Mumbai carnage that was blamed on Pakistani terrorists.