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| Lahore police academy recaptured | |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Pakistani security forces have recaptured a police academy that was seized by gunmen, officials say. | |
| Television footage showed paramilitary troops celebrating on the roof of the compound, near Lahore, after they had besieged the building for eight hours. | Television footage showed paramilitary troops celebrating on the roof of the compound, near Lahore, after they had besieged the building for eight hours. |
| A senior interior ministry official said four militants had been killed and three others had been arrested. | A senior interior ministry official said four militants had been killed and three others had been arrested. |
| He said the number of people killed in the raid was still being verified. Reports vary between four and 40. | He said the number of people killed in the raid was still being verified. Reports vary between four and 40. |
| Morning drill | |
| Officials announced that the siege had ended after sustained heavy gunfire lasting 10-15 minutes. | Officials announced that the siege had ended after sustained heavy gunfire lasting 10-15 minutes. |
| Jill McGivering reports from outside the academy near Lahore There was a period of sustained heavy gunfire inside the compound that went on for 10 to 15 minutes. Once that went quiet it was followed by shouts and applause from the people who had gathered on the rooftops all around, clearly thinking it was over and they had regained control of the compound. Since then we have seen an army helicopter go into the area and quite a few ambulances go in an come out with their sirens blaring. 'I saw the attackers' How attack started In pictures: Lahore siege | |
| Dozens of people had been trapped inside the building. | Dozens of people had been trapped inside the building. |
| The assault came less than a month after gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore. | The assault came less than a month after gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore. |
| In that attack, six policemen were killed, while up to 14 gunmen escaped. | In that attack, six policemen were killed, while up to 14 gunmen escaped. |
| Escalating militant violence in Pakistan has been concentrated in the country's north-west near the border with Afghanistan. | Escalating militant violence in Pakistan has been concentrated in the country's north-west near the border with Afghanistan. |
| But insurgents have increasingly targeted big cities in recent months. | But insurgents have increasingly targeted big cities in recent months. |
| The Manawan police training school attacked on Monday is on the outskirts of the city, on a road to the border with India. | The Manawan police training school attacked on Monday is on the outskirts of the city, on a road to the border with India. |
| Officials and witnesses said gunmen had attacked while trainee police were doing their morning drill on the academy's parade ground. | Officials and witnesses said gunmen had attacked while trainee police were doing their morning drill on the academy's parade ground. |
| Several hundred people were reported to be inside the compound at the time. | |
| 'Planned attack' | |
| The assailants attacked from four sides, witnesses said, throwing grenades before opening fire. | |
| At least some of the gunmen were said to be disguised in police uniforms. | |
| Elite troops were called in to retake the area. | |
| MAJOR PAKISTAN ATTACKS 27 March 09: Suicide bomber demolishes crowded mosque near the north-western town of Jamrud, killing dozens. 3 March 09: Six policemen and a driver killed, and several cricketers injured, in ambush on the Sri Lanka cricket team in central Lahore20 Sept 08: 54 die in an attack on the Marriott hotel in Islamabad6 Sept 08: Suicide car bombing kills 35 and wounds 80 at a police checkpoint in Peshawar Aug 08: Twin suicide bombings at gates of a weapons factory in town of Wah leave 67 deadMarch 08: Suicide bombs hit police headquarters and suburban house in Lahore, killing 24 Dec 07: Former PM Benazir Bhutto assassinated along with 20 others at a Rawalpindi rally | |
| The BBC's Jill McGivering, who was in Lahore, said military helicopters swooped low, firing directly into the training school. | |
| As paramilitary forces tried to force their way into the main building, the gunmen retaliated by throwing grenades. | |
| The scene during the fighting was chaotic, with roads around the site clogged with vehicles and people, our correspondent says. | |
| As the siege ended, ambulances and an army helicopter entered the compound trying to reach the injured. | |
| Some reports said that at least two militants had blown themselves up. | |
| Amid the confusion, officials gave differing numbers for the dead and injured. | |
| One senior Pakistani official told the BBC that as many as 40 people had been killed in the attack, while other reports gave a lower toll. | |
| Interior ministry official Rehman Malik called the assault a "planned, organised, terrorist attack". | |
| "This shows the extent to which the enemies of our country can go," he told the local Geo TV station. | |
| But he added: "It is wrong to say that law and order has collapsed in Pakistan. | |
| "We are very near to [tracing] the attackers involved in this." |