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NEW DELHI: India's cricket board voiced shock on Tuesday at the attack on the Sri Lankan team in Lahore, and highlighted the lack of security in Pakistan that had caused it to cancel a tour by the Indian team. "What has happened is very shocking indeed," said N Srinivasan, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). "We express our heartfelt sympathy for players injured in the attack," he said. "We have been saying that there was a lack of security and safety in Pakistan. But this is not the time to give statements on that. At the moment our concerns are only for the Sri Lankan players," he added. Five Sri Lankan players and the assistant coach were hurt in the gun attack while being driven to the Lahore cricket stadium where they were to play the third day of the second and final Test against Pakistan. India had called off their tour of Pakistan in December in the wake of the deadly attacks in Mumbai, which India blamed on Pakistan-...

LAHORE, Pakistan: A Pakistani air force helicopter on Tuesday evacuated the Sri Lankan cricket team from Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium following a deadly ambush, an AFP reporter said. Sixteen members of the team ran towards the military aircraft on the pitch under guard of security officials, said the correspondent. The helicopter then took off. "The helicopter will take them straight to the Lahore airport from where they will fly home," a Pakistan Cricket Board official told PTI. The two injured Sri Lankan players -- Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga Paranavitana who were hit by gunshots -- will be taken to the airport straight from the hospital as they are out of danger. PCB chairman Ejaz Butt and other Board officials were present at the Gaddafi stadium ground from where the helicopter airlifted the players and officials. PTI reported. Sri Lanka has chartered a plane to evacuate the national cricket team from Lahore, sports minister Gamini Lokuge said. "I don't have ...

Gunmen attacked a bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team in the Pakistani city of Lahore on Tuesday, wounding six players, officials said. A senior Pakistani official said the raid bore the hallmarks of the same militants who attacked India's financial capital Mumbai in November. India and the United States blamed the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba for the three-day assault on Mumbai. Following are the major militant groups operating in Pakistan who could be behind the attack. LASHKAR-E-TAIBA : Lashkar-e-Taiba or "army of the pure" is one of the largest Islamic militant groups in South Asia, based in Pakistan and fighting Indian rule in Kashmir. Security analysts say it is a well-funded and highly organized group that sympathises with al Qaeda. A charity linked to the group was headquartered at Muridke town, outside Lahore, and most LeT fighters were drawn from surrounding Punjab province. Pakistan raided the group and shut down the charity after it came under pressure...

LAHORE: Indian involvement in the terror attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team cannot be ruled out, Lahore Commissioner Khushro Pervaiz was quoted as saying Tuesday. Pervaiz also said that security officials had successfully protected the Sri Lankan team, Geo TV reported. India was trying to weaken Pakistan, added Gen (retired) Hameed Gul, a former chief of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). He told Geo News that India wanted to declare Pakistan a terrorist state and the firing on the Sri Lankan team was related to that conspiracy. Six escorting security personnel were killed and six Sri Lankan cricketers as well as the assistant coach were injured when the team cavalcade was targeted by heavily armed gunmen close to the Gaddafi Stadium while they were going to play the third day of the second Test against Pakistan. Reacting to the attack, India's foreign minister Pranab Mukherjee said in New Delhi: "The terrorism infrastructure facilities available in Pakistan must be com...

LAHORE: Five security men have been killed and two injured when unknown persons attacked Sri Lankan cricket team here on Tuesday.According to sources, unknown attackers riding on motorbikes opened fire on Sri Lankan cricket team bus near Gaddafi Stadium.Intense trade of fire occurred between police and unknown attackers after the attack. Five security men have been killed and two injured who were shifted to hospital. Police have cordoned off the area. Several Sri Lankan players reportedly sustained injuries in the incident. Pakistan team has directed to stay in the hotel whereas Sri Lankan team has been shifted to Gaddafi Stadium.Manager cricket team told Geo News that Pakistan cricket team will go to stadium after getting the security clearance.Meanwhile, Sri Lankan sports minister has confirmed that two Sri Lankan player wounded in the attack whereas government of Punjab said firing incident is aftermath of rivalry between two land grabber groups.

ISLAMABAD: Former chief of Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) Gen(R) Hameed Gul said India is trying to weaken Pakistan.Commenting on the attack on Sri Lankan team, Gul told Geo News that India wants to declare Pakistan a terrorist state and firing on Sri Lankan team is related to the that conspiracy.

LAHORE: Pakistani security experts on Tuesday defused two car bombs and recovered a stash of weapons after gunmen staged a deadly ambush against the Sri Lankan cricket team, officials said. One bomb was defused at Liberty Square, where the ambush took place, and another at the nearby Firdus car park. "We have defused a bomb in a white Hyundai and after some time we got information about a suspect car in the Firdus car park. We also defused the bomb there," police bomb disposal unit inspector Abdul Ghafoor told foreign news agency. Local sector warden Malik Fayyaz said that grenades, three kilograms of explosives, a pistol and a one-meter detonating cable had been recovered.