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Pakistan steps up hunt for gunmen Pakistan president in gunmen vow
(about 1 hour later)
Pakistani security forces have stepped up a manhunt for up to 14 gunmen who attacked Sri Lanka's cricket team in the city of Lahore. Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has vowed that those who attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team will be caught, and punished "with iron hands".
Police say a number of people have been held for questioning and a $125,000 (£89,000) reward has been posted by the government in Punjab. Mr Zardari told visiting Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama in Islamabad that progress was being made in investigating the attack in Lahore.
The Sri Lankan team has now arrived back in Colombo amid emotional scenes. The Sri Lankan team has arrived back in Colombo amid emotional scenes.
Gunmen opened fire on the team's convoy on Tuesday, killing six policemen and a driver and injuring eight tour members.Gunmen opened fire on the team's convoy on Tuesday, killing six policemen and a driver and injuring eight tour members.
BackpacksBackpacks
Authorities in Lahore have reproduced in newspapers images of the attackers taken from TV footage and police say a number of people have been detained for questioning. Mr Zardari said: "Progress has been made in the investigation and the perpetrators will be exposed and brought to justice."
There were just these images of life flashing through my mind Muttiah Muralitharan However, senior police official Haji Habibur Rehman told the Associated Press that little headway had been made in identifying the men. Police say the cache of weapons suggests a long operation was planned
Police have shown journalists a large cache of arms they say they recovered from several locations near the site of Tuesday's attack. He admitted that the attack was "a serious setback that had also undermined the sport of cricket in Pakistan".
There were backpacks stuffed with food and water, suggesting that the gunmen may have been prepared for a long siege, as was the case in last year's attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai. Mr Zardari welcomed Sri Lanka's assertion that the attack would not harm ties and called for the two nations to work together to "learn from each other's experiences in fighting terrorism".
Up to 14 gunmen were involved in the attack at the Liberty Square roundabout in the heart of Lahore on Tuesday.
The BBC's M Ilyas Khan in Islamabad says hundreds of people have been questioned in poorer areas of Lahore to find clues to the attackers.
A number of people have been detained for further investigation but senior police official Haji Habibur Rehman told the Associated Press news agency that little headway had been made in identifying the men.
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Sri Lankan cricketers return homeSri Lankan cricketers return home
That attack was blamed on the Pakistan-based group Lashkar-e-Taiba. The police have registered a criminal case against unidentified men, saying they fired rocket-propelled grenades, threw grenades at the bus and fired automatic weapons, killing seven people and injuring eight.
The Pakistani government has been criticised for the level of security provided for the team and analysts say it will now be under intense pressure to find the gunmen. INJURED PLAYERS Thilan SamaraweeraTharanga ParanavitanaMahela JayawardeneKumar SangakkaraAjantha MendisSuranga LakmalChaminda VaasAssistant coach Paul Farbrace class="" href="/sport1/hi/cricket/7920748.stm">Profiles of players class="" href="/1/hi/in_pictures/7923031.stm">In pictures: Cricketers' return after ordeal class="" href="/1/hi/world/south_asia/7920995.stm">Bus driver's dramatic escape Investigators are checking a number of backpacks recovered from nine locations in the city that were apparently left by the attackers as they escaped.
Rehman Malik, Pakistan's interior ministry adviser, said the country was in a "state of war". INJURED PLAYERS Thilan SamaraweeraTharanga ParanavitanaMahela JayawardeneKumar SangakkaraAjantha MendisSuranga LakmalChaminda VaasAssistant coach Paul Farbrace class="" href="/sport1/hi/cricket/7920748.stm">Profiles of players class="" href="/1/hi/in_pictures/7923031.stm">In pictures: Cricketers return class="" href="/1/hi/world/south_asia/7920995.stm">Bus driver's dramatic escape Police say the backpacks contain water bottles and dry food items, indicating that the attackers were preparing for a long operation, as was the case in last year's attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai.
He called for patience but vowed to "flush all these terrorists out of the country". The government of Punjab province has placed advertisements in local newspapers announcing a $125,000 reward for any information that leads to the attackers.
President Asif Ali Zardari, writing in the Wall Street Journal, said the attack showed "once again the evil we are confronting". The advert, carried on most front pages, features two grainy pictures of the attackers, apparently taken from video footage.
An editorial in Pakistan's The News on Wednesday read: "The world has once again seen that Pakistan is an unsafe place, no matter where you are or who you are". UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown on Wednesday called the attack "tragic", adding: "I've been pressing for some time the Pakistan government to make sure that arrests happen, that terrorists are brought under control."
Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama has flown to Pakistan to discuss the incident. BBC defence and security correspondent Rob Watson says there is Western concern that Pakistan does not have the necessary counter-insurgency fighting capabilities to tackle militants even if the political will is there.
FBI director Robert Mueller has also arrived in Pakistan on a visit arranged before the attacks. But he says Western officials also believe there is a growing realisation among many in Pakistan's security establishment that the extremist Islamist network they helped to create over the years is now a threat to the Pakistani state's existence.
'Bigger picture' Emotional reunions
The Sri Lankan team's return to Colombo saw emotional reunions with anxious family members at the international airport. Residents in Lahore have converged on Liberty Square to pay homage to the policemen killed in the attack. The residents held prayers and laid wreaths.
"There were just these images of life flashing through my mind; all the while bullets were being sprayed at our bus, people around me were shouting," spin bowler Muttiah Muralitharan told the AFP news agency. MAJOR ATTACKS Sept 08: 54 die in an attack on the Marriott hotel in Islamabad June 08: Six killed in car bomb attack near Danish embassy in Islamabad Dec 07: Former PM Benazir Bhutto assassinated along with 20 others at a Rawalpindi rallyMarch 06: Suicide car bombing kills US diplomat in KarachiJune 02: 12 killed in car bomb attack outside US consulate in KarachiMay 02: 11 French engineers and three Pakistanis killed in an attack on Karachi Sheraton hotel class="" href="/sport1/hi/cricket/7920306.stm">Lahore Test scrapped after attack class="" href="/1/hi/world/south_asia/7922087.stm">Sri Lanka cricket fans in shock Police have also shown journalists a large cache of arms they say they recovered from several locations near the site of the attack.
MAJOR ATTACKS Sept 08: 54 die in an attack on the Marriott hotel in Islamabad June 08: Six killed in car bomb attack near Danish embassy in Islamabad Dec 07: Former PM Benazir Bhutto assassinated along with 20 others at a Rawalpindi rallyMarch 06: Suicide car bombing kills US diplomat in KarachiJune 02: 12 killed in car bomb attack outside US consulate in KarachiMay 02: 11 French engineers and three Pakistanis killed in an attack on Karachi Sheraton hotel class="" href="/sport1/hi/cricket/7920306.stm">Lahore Test scrapped after attack class="" href="/1/hi/world/south_asia/7922087.stm">Sri Lanka cricket fans in shock Captain Mahela Jayawardene said the attack should lead to better security. Officers are trying to determine which militant groups used such arms.
FBI director Robert Mueller has arrived in Pakistan on a visit arranged before the attacks. He was expected to discuss Mumbai but Lahore will also now be high on his agenda.
Mumbai was blamed on the Pakistan-based group Lashkar-e-Taiba.
They have been mentioned as possible perpetrators of Tuesday's attacks, along with al-Qaeda and Taleban militants.
Meanwhile, the Sri Lankan team's return to Colombo saw emotional reunions with anxious family members at the international airport."There were just these images of life flashing through my mind; all the while bullets were being sprayed at our bus, people around me were shouting," spin bowler Muttiah Muralitharan told the AFP news agency.
Captain Mahela Jayawardene said the attack should lead to better security.
"This is something for all of us to realise, whoever made all these decisions... that we need to think more than cricket."This is something for all of us to realise, whoever made all these decisions... that we need to think more than cricket.
"It's about families, livelihoods, kids, wives, parents everybody. We need to look at the bigger picture.""It's about families, livelihoods, kids, wives, parents everybody. We need to look at the bigger picture."
Up to 14 gunmen were involved in the attack on the Liberty Square roundabout in the heart of Lahore. The attacks are also expected to have massive ramifications for the cricket world.
The masked men opened fire as the Sri Lanka team coach approached the cricket stadium for its Test match against Pakistan. The ICC is considering whether Pakistan can co-host the cricket World Cup, due to be held across four South Asian countries in 2011.
None of the injured Sri Lanka team members was so seriously hurt that they could not fly back to Colombo but once they arrived, five players and assistant coach Paul Farbrace, who is British, went to a local medical centre for further checks.
The attacks are expected to have massive ramifications for the cricket world.
New Zealand cricket authorities have told the BBC that a proposed tour to Pakistan now seems unlikely.
The ICC is also considering whether Pakistan can co-host the cricket World Cup, due to be held across four South Asian countries in 2011.
Pakistan had invited Sri Lanka to tour only after India's cricket team pulled out of a scheduled tour following the Mumbai attacks.Pakistan had invited Sri Lanka to tour only after India's cricket team pulled out of a scheduled tour following the Mumbai attacks.
Those attacks were blamed on Pakistan-based Islamic militants. Al-Qaeda and Taleban militants as well as Kashmiri jihadi groups have been mentioned as possible perpetrators of Tuesday's attack.