The October 2009 Lahore attacks were simultaneous assaults on three buildings across

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

, on 15 October 2009, around 9:15 am local time. The attacks killed 38 and wounded at least 20. One group of militants attacked the Regional Headquarters of the

Federal Investigation Agency The Federal Investigation Agency (; reporting name: FIA) is a border control, criminal investigation, counter-intelligence and security agency under the control of the Interior Secretary of Pakistan, tasked with investigative jurisdiction on u ...

(FIA), while a second group raided the Manawan Police Training School. The third team of militants attacked the Elite Police Academy."Militants launch multiple attacks in Lahore, 14 dead"
''

Dawn News Dawn News HD is a Pakistani 24-hour Urdu news channel. Based in Karachi, the station is a subsidiary of Pakistan Herald Publications Limited (PHPL), Pakistan's largest English-language media group. The test transmission of the station occurr ...

'', 15 October 2009

Background

The same Federal Investigation Agency regional headquarters was hit by a suicide car bomb in March 2008. Earlier in the day, a suicide car bomber blew himself up at a police station in Kohat. These and other events have led to Pakistan's preparation for a major operation in Waziristan.

Federal Investigation Agency: Regional Headquarters

According to Punjab Home Secretary Nadeem Hassan Asif, the

's regional headquarters in Lahore was attacked by four individuals. Initial shots killed two attackers, including a suicide bomber. Hostages were taken, including FIA officials; the government responded with a siege lasting 90 minutes. In the end, four government employees, including three FIA agents, and a bystander were killed.

Elite Force Training Academy

The Elite Police Academy, situated at Bedian Road 5 kilometers from the Manawan Police Training School (which was also targeted) was attacked by six men in militia uniforms. Six policemen and five militants were killed. Only one militant was killed by the police; the three others were suicide bombers. The battle lasted until afternoon; in the aftermath, a family which was being held hostage was freed.

Manawan Police Training School

Four attackers were dropped off at the training center in a Suzuki van around 9:10 am local time. Two attackers shot and killed the guard at the gate, and then entered the center by scaling the main gate. The two other attackers followed, throwing grenades on their way. One went to the kitchen, another to the patients' barracks, and a third to the barber's salon. One was spotted and gunned down on the lawn. Nine policemen were killed and fifty were injured in the attack, which lasted until about 11:50 am. .

Responsibility

Many such attacks over the past year have been carried out by

Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

or Punjabi militant groups, or, as in the army headquarters attack on 10 October 2009, a combination of both. According to

GEO News Geo News () is a old technology foundation Pakistani news channel owned by the Jang Media Group. It was launched in October 2002 as the news and current affairs program was under its flagship channel Geo TV, which later in 2004, Geo TV decided ...

, the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack.

Investigations

At least 9 people having links with group behind the attack have been apprehend. A large amount of ammunitions, and maps of sensitive installations were recovered.

Pakistan reactions

*President

Asif Ali Zardari Asif Ali Zardari (born 26 July 1955) is a Pakistani politician serving as the 14th president of Pakistan since 2024, having held the same office from 2008 to 2013. He is the president of Pakistan People's Party Parliamentarians and was the ...

said that this violence will not deter the government from eliminating the extremism. * Interior Minister Rehman Malik said, "The enemy has started a

guerrilla war Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrorism ...

. The whole nation should be united against these handful of terrorists, and God willing we will defeat them." * Punjab Provincial Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said that the police were trying to take some of the militants alive so information could be extracted from them.

References

External links

Police interrogate suspects after Lahore attacks
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lahore attacks Mass murder in 2009 Spree shootings in Pakistan School massacres in Pakistan Crime in Punjab, Pakistan Hostage taking in Pakistan Terrorist incidents in Pakistan in 2009 Terrorist incidents in Lahore 2000s in Lahore October 2009 in Pakistan Attacks on schools in 2009 School shootings in Asia