UPDATE: Gunmen injure 6 Lanka cricketers in Pak attack

In a shocking turn of events, at least six Sri Lankan cricketers were today injured when unidentified gunmen opened fire at them killing five police personnel escorting the team to the Gaddafi stadium here.  

The Sri Lankan players, who were on their way to stadium for the third day's play of the second Test match, were injured and the policemen killed as the gunmen targeted the bus carrying them at the busy Liberty Chowk, located less than a kilometre from the venue of the match, officials said.  

Five policemen, who were in an escort the bus, were killed instantly while some shots hit the cricket team's bus, injuring at least three players, they said.  

Sri Lankan cricket manager Brenden Kurrupu said up to five or six players were believed to have been wounded.  

Among the injured players are K Sangakkara, Ajantha Mendis and T Samaraweera, PCB officials were quoted as saying by Dawn News channel.  

The extent of their injuries could not be immediately ascertained. Several policemen were also injured in the attack.

"The firing took place from at least four sides and continued for some minutes," one police official said.  

"There were 12 masked gunmen," Lahore police chief Habib-ur Rehman told reporters, adding that police battled against the assailants for about 25 minutes.  

"They appeared to be well-trained terrorists. They came on rickshaws. They were armed with rockets, hand grenades, kalashnikovs," he said.  

TV channels aired footage of at least two of the gunmen, one of them wearing shalwar kameez and other jeans and a jacket. Both were armed with assault rifles and carrying backpacks.  

Police cordoned off the area immediately after the attack and launched a search for the gunmen. The driver of the cricket team's bus drove away from the spot immediately after the firing started.  "We are assessing the situation," Pakistan cricket board chief Ejaz Butt said.  

"Five policemen who were providing protection to the team sacrificed their lives," he added.  

One explosion was also heard at the stadium.  The attackers later escaped in separate groups.  

The liaison officer of the Pakistan team said players of the host nation have been sent back to the hotel.  

Sources also claimed that the police had received a threat on Monday that the Sri Lankan team would be attacked so a different route was used to transport the team to the stadium.