Pakistan: Taliban claimed responsibility of Lahore attack in which 9 cops killed

LAHORE, Pakistan (Thu, July 12) – At least nine Pakistani police cops were killed, while they were sleeping, Thursday in a shooting spree by gunmen in Lahore. The attack on security forces was second of its kind since NATO supply routes were reopened by Pakistan.

Later on the Pakistani Taliban claimed the responsibility of the attack.

Pakistani Taliban spokesperson Ahsanullah Ahsan, talking to Associated Press from an unknown location, told that it was revenge for the police torture of their fighters in prisons.

According to details; ten gunmen stormed into a hostel housing officers under training and opened fire, police said. The police who were attacked were recruited from northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province, a one-time base for the Taliban, and were brought to Lahore for training.

Eight policemen also suffered bullet wounds, said Salman Saddiq, a government official.

Police said the suspected gunmen involved in the recent attack were the same ones who killed seven soldiers and a policeman at an army camp Monday about 160 kilometers (100 miles) northwest of Lahore. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for that attack as well.