9 dead as gunmen attack Pakistan Stock Exchange

Karachi - Separatist insurgents from the southwestern province of Balochistan claimed responsibility, senior counter-terrorism official Raja Umar Khattab said.

Gunmen armed with grenades attacked the Pakistan Stock Exchange in the city of Karachi on Monday in a bid to take hostages, killing three guards, a policeman and a bystander before security forces killed all four of the attackers, security officials said.
Separatist insurgents from the southwestern province of Balochistan claimed responsibility, senior counter-terrorism official Raja Umar Khattab said. The Baloch Liberation Army had claimed responsibility in a post on Twitter but Reuters was not able to verify the authenticity of the account.
"They had come to carry out an attack inside the building and take hostages inside," director-general of the Sindh Rangers, a paramilitary force, Omer Ahmed Bukhari, told media, adding all attackers had been killed within eight minutes.
Karachi Police chief Ghulam Nabi Memon said the gunmen attacked with grenades and guns after pulling up in a car.
Three guards, a policeman and a bystander were killed and seven people were wounded, Deputy Inspector General of Police Sharjil Kharal said. A counter-terrorism official said the attackers were carrying significant quantities of ammunition and grenades in backpacks.
"We locked ourselves in our offices," said Asad Javed, who works at a brokerage in the stock exchange building.
 

• Pakistan