Pakistani gunmen attack Karachi stock exchange, killing three people, before being shot by police - ABC News

Gunmen attacked the stock exchange in the Pakistani city of Karachi killing at least three people — two guards and a policeman, according to police.

Key points:

• The building is located in the heart of the city's financial district
• Food supplies were found on the bodies of the gunmen, indicating they may have planned a siege
• The Baluchistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attack

Special police forces were deployed to the scene of the attack and secured the building in a swift operation, killing all four gunmen.

There were no reports of any wounded among the brokers and employees inside the exchange and a separatist militant group from a neighbouring province later claimed responsibility for the attack.

The attackers were armed with grenades and automatic rifles, police said.

They launched the attack by opening fire at the entrance of the Pakistan Stock Exchange in the southern port city, the country's financial centre.

Security forces stand guard outside the complex after the operation ended.(AP: Fareed Khan)

Heavily armed special forces quickly surrounded the building located in the heart of the city's financial district, where the Pakistan State Bank is located as well as the headquarters of several national and international financial institutions.

Local television stations broadcast images of police in full body armour surrounding the building but still staying outside the high walled compound of the stock exchange.

Rizwan Ahmend, a police official at the scene, said that after opening fire, the gunmen entered the stock exchange grounds.

He said that after the attack was over, food supplies were found on the bodies of the gunmen, indicating they may have planned a long siege.

Inside the stock exchange, broker Yaqub Memon told The Associated Press that he and others were huddled inside their offices while the attack was underway.

Special police forces deployed to the scene of the attack secured the building swiftly, police said.(AP: Fareed Khan)

As the firing ended and the gunmen were killed, police gathered all the employees and brokers in a single room while security forces went floor by floor to ensure that no explosives had been left behind, he said.

Shazia Jehan, a police spokesman, said the bomb disposal team was also called to the stock exchange to clear the building of any explosive devices.

Later, the Baluchistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attack.

The group has been waging an insurgency for years, demanding independence for Pakistan's gas-rich south-western Baluchistan province.

The group also circulated to the media a photograph of four men in full body armour and camouflage outfits, saying they were the militants who attacked the stock exchange.

AP

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2020-06-29 09:53:21Z
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