Terrorists attack the SL cricket team

[QLD]

http://www.foxsports.com.au/story/0,8659,2...8-23212,00.html

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>

Eight Sri Lanka cricketers wounded in Pakistan terrorist shooting

From correspondents in Lahore, Pakistan
March 03, 2009

Masked gunmen have attacked the Sri Lanka cricket team's bus as they were being driven to the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Pakistan, on Tuesday, with as many as eight players believed to have been injured.

Tharanga Paranavitana and Thilan Samaraweera were taken to hospital after the shooting, while Kumar Sangakarra, Chaminda Vaas and Mahela Jayawardene were also reported to be among the wounded, Sri Lanka sports minister Gamini Lokuge said.

Vaas was carried from the scene on a stretcher.

Sri Lanka captain Jayawardena was slightly wounded in a foot, his father told a television station after speaking with him by telephone.

"All we know is the bus was shot at, at a junction near the stadium ... we're hearing that six of our players are injured," Sri Lanka team media manager Charith Senanayake said.

Another Sri Lankan cricket official said on an Indian TV channel from Colombo that "it appears that our team bus was targeted on the way to the match".

"It appears that four of our cricketers have been injured and taken to the hospital," the offical said.

Five Pakistani policeman have been killed in the attack, according to media reports.

Lahore police chief Habib-ur Rehman said that 12 gunmen attacked the convoy containing the Sri Lanka team bus with rockets, hand grenades and automatic weapons, and that the gunmen were involved in a 25-minute shootout with security forces.

"They appeared to be well-trained terrorists," Habib said.

"They came on rickshaws."

A police official, meanwhile, said that two civilians and six police officers who were guarding the players were killed in the attack, which happened as the team were heading for the third day's play in the second Test against Pakistan.

The match has been cancelled with immediate effect.

Television footage of several gunmen creeping through the trees, crouching to aim assault rifles then running onto the next target were aired by Pakistan's private channel Geo.

More to follow

Agence France-Presse[/b]

This is absolutely shocking. Hope no one dies but how will this impact the SL team after they were on the rise? This could've easily been the Australia team last year. Surely this is the end of Pakistani cricket.

 

[An Tarbh]

well the BBC said the Sri Lankan sports minister said the injuries to the players and coach were minor so looks like no fatalities as of yet.

I think the bigger question is what impact this will have on Pakistani cricket, Australia will certainly be looking to cancel their tour in the wake of this as will any other country scheduled to go there in the near future. It's gutting for the Pakistanis that these terrorists are destroying their cricket.

 

[Woldog]

Hope no one dies? what about the five police men who got killed?

 

[Maccaweeny]

I bet everyone who hated on the Aussie team for not traveling last year due to fears of something like this are swallowing their words.

This is an absolutely terrible prospect for Pakistani cricket, and will if anything increase the tension between cosmopolitan Pakistanis and the Baluchis and other tribesmen in the west. Attacking civilians is always wrong, but in a society where civilian contractors are often used to subjugate minority groups (i.e through arms production/indentured labour etc) it's often an unavoidable facet of guerilla warfare.

Attacking sportsmen, on the other hand, has absolutely no practical or ethical justification. It is the intended killing/maiming of people who have no place or interest in regional politics, merely for the point of creating publicity. A lot of people advocate understanding what exactly gives impetus to extremist ideologies, but acts like this make it hard to identify with such people whatsoever. God forbid, in two years time if i'm ever on deployment, I doubt i'll be shedding a tear for people such as this.

 

[Fa'atau82]

This is a terrible thing to see. Not sure why they attacked the cricket team, but it was probably for some notoriety. The reports i saw said that 12 masked gunmen started attacking the bus, killing 5 officers, whilst 4 of the team are recovering in hospital from gunshots and shrapnel wounds.

A rocket launcher and a grenade was also used in the attack. I don't follow cricket, but this is a very damaging blow to international cricket in pakistan. Can't see any team going there for the forseeable future.

 

[Cymro]

All I can say is tata Pakistan Cricket as I doubt anyone will ever travel there again!

 

[An Tarbh]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Fa'atau82 @ Mar 3 2009, 08:53 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

This is a terrible thing to see. Not sure why they attacked the cricket team, but it was probably for some notoriety. The reports i saw said that 12 masked gunmen started attacking the bus, killing 5 officers, whilst 4 of the team are recovering in hospital from gunshots and shrapnel wounds.

A rocket launcher and a grenade was also used in the attack. I don't follow cricket, but this is a very damaging blow to international cricket in pakistan. Can't see any team going there for the forseeable future.[/b]

I would have thought they'd have attacked to provoke the response that cricket will be driven out of Pakistan, meaning that western infidels would no longer be travelling to their country to watch cricket, and also to **** off the type of people in Pakistan who love their cricket and are hence tainted as associating with Westerners. Now I know not all cricket nations are western nations but the Sri Lankans probably would have been an easier target than say England, New Zealand or Australia who would have psycho levels of security surrounding them.

 

[Maccaweeny]

The security detail obviously did their job, they died fighting in an extremely disadvantageous position. What's the bet they receive a wage similar to that of a tax clerk.

 

[An Tarbh]

I'm not for a second saying they didn't do their job but you can be sure the levels would have been far higher had it been one of the other countries touring which I mentioned.

 

[An Tarbh]

Chris Broad seems to have come in for some unnecessary flak in the wake of events in Lahore, claiming that the security for the officials was non existent with the likes of Amir Sohail slating him citing the deaths of the police men, that's all well and good but they died protecting the players, where was the security for the officials as well, Taufel seems to have backed this up in his press conference with Davis, we should be getting some answers to their questions.