Lahore under attack again: 12 dead, 90 injured in bloody siege at police academy, three gunmen captured

Eight police recruits were gunned down and 90 others injured by terrorists in an attack on the Manawan Police Training Centre, here on Monday. In a joint commando operation carried out by army, rangers and police, three terrorists were killed and three others captured, raising hopes that the security agencies would now be able to unearth the terrorists network and bust them.
Two suspects are under custody of the authorities. Police sources told Business Recorder that the martyred seven police recruits included Abid Hassan s/o Akbar Ali (Jalalpur Jattan), Ghulam Mohiuddin s/o Muhammad Islam (Rajim Yar Khan), Rohail s/o Fayaz Ahmad (Gulshen Ravi) and a passer-by Muhammad Khawar s/o Abdul Rasheed (Harbanspura).
Among the injured were ASP Gulberg M Jawad, Zahid, Muhammad Raza, Shafiq, Muhammad Shoaib, Asif Hussain, Abbas, Ghulam Hussain, Muhammad Adil, Khushi Muhammad, Sadaqat, Nayyer Iqbal, Azim, M Rashid, Imtiaz Ali, Hassan, Bilal, Muhammad Atif, Muhammad Afzal, Muhammad Naveed, Muhammad Akram, Kashif Mirza, Muhammad Fiaz, Ijaz, Ahmed, Shahbaz Ahmed, Adnan Saeed, Safdar Ali, Abdur Rehman, Allah Ditta, Tahir Masood, Majid, Zahid, Shafiq and Muhammad Ilyas.
About 8-10 terrorists attacked police recruits when they were busy in regular drill on the parade ground at around 7:30 am. After counter attack by police, terrorists entered the main building of the training centre and held about 10 personnel hostages at the third floor while about 20 trainees were stranded at the second floor.
As the local police could not handle the situation, army and rangers were called in to overcome the terrorists. They conducted a joint operation under the command of General Officer Commanding (GOC) Major General Shafqaat Ahmad that successfully ended at 3.35 pm killing three terrorists and arresting three including two suspects.
The terrorist arrested is about 20-year old Afghan. A hand grenade, a passport and a knife were also recovered from his possession. He was arrested when he tried to reach the helicopters landed in the nearby fields. The policeman Shahzad and two army personnel nabbed him before he could hit the helicopters.
He claimed to be a Muslim; however, policemen failed to understand his language. The other two suspects were identified as Hijrat and Shahid. A loaded gun was recovered from one of the suspects. All the three arrested persons were shifted to some unknown place for interrogation. One of the terrorists had also managed to escape from the scene.
Announcements were made from the nearby mosques that if anyone finds some injured person, police may be informed immediately. Commandos declared victory signs on completion of the operation. The officials shouted "Allah-o-Akbar" (God is great), flashed victory signs and fired bullets into the air, a traditional sign of celebration.
The cameramen, were, however allowed to film inside the building of the training centre after an hour of the completion of operation. IG Punjab also took mediamen in the building.
The forces recovered heavy arms and an explosive jacket from the building. The terrorists used hand grenade and resorted to heavy firing against the personnel. About 35 army personnel along with rangers personnel, policemen and Jawans of elite forces entered the ground floor in the armoured vehicles and cover of helicopters.
The GOC, DG ranger and IG Punjab later told newsmen that a flushing out strategy was evolved to ensure safe recovery of hostages. The personnel successfully handled the operation. IG Punjab also admitted that the elite force is trained to tackle the criminals. However, he appreciated the bravery and valour of the forces for arresting the terrorists alive.
GOC also appreciated the policemen for their courage and counter attack and confirmed that he had seen three dead bodies of the terrorists when they entered the building. Moreover, people of the area gathered and chanted slogans in favour of security personnel.
GOC Major General Shafqaat Ahmed, DG Ranger Major General Muhammad Yaqoob, IG Punjab Khawaja Khalid Farooq and DG, Rescue 1122 Punjab, Dr Rizwan Naseer remained at the scene till the completion of the operation while Punjab Governor Salmaan Taseer and Advisor to Prime Minister Rehman Malik also visited the Manawan Training Centre. The wounded police trainees were shifted to various city hospitals by Rescue 1122, Edhi and others organisations.