Pakistan security forces end deadly police academy siege

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) -- Eight cadets and staff members were killed in Pakistan during an an eight-hour standoff Monday with gunmen who stormed a police training center in Lahore, said Gen. Athar Abbas, a military spokesman.

Pakistani paramilitary soldiers arrest a suspected militant near the site of a police training center in Lahore.

Pakistani paramilitary soldiers arrest a suspected militant near the site of a police training center in Lahore.

Abbas had previously said 30 people were killed. He cited the error on wrong information by his sources at the scene.

At least 52 others were wounded in the attack, authorities said.

Of the 10 to 12 gunmen who stormed the academy in the Manawan area of the eastern Pakistani city, four were killed in confrontation with police, said Rehman Malik, the head of the country's Interior Ministry.

Another three militants were arrested, Abbas said.

The fate of the remaining gunmen was not immediately known.

The militants had been holed up on the top floor of a three-story building, Malik said. Security forces gained control of the first two floors and eventually made their way to the top, finally taking control of it and arresting the gunmen Monday afternoon.

Lahore is the same city where, gunmen opened fire March 10 on a bus carrying members of the Sri Lankan national cricket team on their way to a stadium for a match. The well-coordinated attack wounded at least eight members of the team and killed a driver and six Pakistani police officers. Watch more about the attack Video

In Monday's incident, the attackers hurled grenades, then stormed the compound and opened fire while officers were taking part in their morning drill.

About 800 officers train at the facility, but authorities could not say exactly how many were inside at the time.

The attackers, some in police uniforms, took dozens of officers hostage, said Asim Rizwan, spokesman for governor of Punjab -- the province where Lahore is located.

Paramilitary forces and the army descended on the scene. Every few minutes, the gunmen detonated explosives or fired on reporters and police personnel outside, sending them scurrying for cover.

 

Angry onlookers pumped their fists in the air and cheered as police led the suspect they had captured. He had on him a grenade and a knife, officials told CNN.

Once the operation ended, police officers gleefully shouted "God is Great" from the building's roof

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