Gunmen attacked Qadiyani worshippers in two of their worship places of the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore Friday, taking hostages and killing at least 80 people, officials said. The gunmen opened fire shortly after Friday noon and threw what could have been grenades at two Qadiyani worship places in residential neighborhoods in Pakistan's cultural capital. Sajjad Bhutta, deputy commissioner of Lahore, said at least 80 people had been killed in the twin attacks on mosques in Garhi Shahu and Model Town. A total of 78 were injured. The death toll at Garhi Shahu was higher, Bhutta said, because three attackers blew themselves up with suicide vests packed with explosives when police tried to enter the building. Police are still searching the area as two attackers were still at large. Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said the incidents would generate greater resolve to combat extremism. “It's a reminder to the nation that Pakistan will achieve its destiny only after we get rid of the worst type of extremism and fundamentalism,” he told a news conference. “The entire nation will fight this evil.” He said one attacker had been arrested. Police in Model Town confirmed one gunman had been arrested and another killed. There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but suspicion quickly fell on the Pakistani Taliban. “It's too early to say who is behind these attacks,” said a Lahore-based security official. “But my guess is that like most other attacks, there would be some link to the Taliban or their associated militants.” Punjab's Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said the arrested attacker was a teenage Pashtun. This, he said, indicaed a link to the Pakistani tribal area of Waziristan and strongly hinted at a Taliban link. “The prayer leader was giving a sermon when we heard firing and blasts. Everybody stood up and then two gunmen barged into the mosque and sprayed bullets,” Fateh Sharif, a 19-year-old student, said. “They had long beards. They were carrying rucksacks.” Bhutta said a suicide vest laden with explosives was recovered from Model Town, where some attackers escaped. One fired at a television van before the area was made safe. “He was young, clean-shaven. He sprayed bullets at our van while fleeing the scene,” Rabia Mehmood, a reporter for Express Television, said. Witnesses said the assaults were launched shortly after prayers. “I saw some gunmen run towards the Ahmadis' place of worship and then I heard blasts and gunfire,” Mohammad Nawaz, a resident, said. Stock market investors shrugged off the latest violence. “Initially we saw some selling after the attack but investors started accumulating shares at lower levels,” said Asad Iqbal, chief executive at Faysal Asset Management Ltd adding that there was foreign buying which boosted local confidence. The Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) benchmark 100-share index was up 0.75 percent at 9,511.75 points at 4:05 p.m. (1105 GMT). Separately, security forces battled Taliban militants in the Orakzai region near the Afghan border in the northwest and about 40 militants were killed and 30 wounded in attacks by government aircraft in three places, a paramilitary force officer said.
