A British referee accused police of abandoning him and other match officials in the deadly ambush of
(4 Mar 2009) HEADLINE: Cricket ref: Pakistan police fled during ambush CAPTION: A British referee accused police of abandoning him and other match officials in the deadly ambush of the Sri Lankan cricket team, as officers said their manhunt Wednesday for the attackers was making little headway. (March 4) [Notes:ANCHOR VOICE] In the dark of night, people light candles and lay flowers to remember six Pakistani police officers killed Tuesday during an ambush on the Sri Lankan Cricket Team. Up to 14 assailants wielded assault rifles, grenades and at least one rocket launcher. [Notes:ap images] And there's a fresh allegation from a British referee. Chris Broad was traveling in a van in the same convoy as the Sri Lankan team bus when gunfire erupted.. His driver was killed and a fellow passenger was critically injured. Broad said police left the scene during the shooting. The head of Pakistan's Cricket Board asked how that could have happened since six policemen were killed. Surveillance video shows some of the attackers walking casually--indicating they did not believe police were in the area. Now the hunt is on to figure out who plotted and carried out the attack. (SOT: HASSAN ASKARI, POLITICAL ANALYST) "WELL, THERE ARE LOT OF SPECULATIONS GOING ON AT THE MOMENT. NO GROUP HAS CLAIMED RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ATTACK AND THERE IS NO EVIDENCE AVAILABLE TO SUGGEST AS TO WHO IS RESPONSIBLE. I THINK ALL THOSE SPECULATIVE THEORIES ARE ON THE TABLE AND THE GOVERNMENT IS EXAMINING WHETHER IT HAS THE DOMESTIC SOURCES, VARIOUS MILITANT ISLAMIC GROUPS WERE INVOLVED OR PEOPLE WHO UNDERTOOK THE MUMBAI INCIDENT, WERE THEY INVOLVED IN IT? Pakistani police have a poor record of investigating terrorist attacks. They often round up people in the immediate aftermath who are never charged or release contradictory information. (SOT: HAJI HABIBUR REHMAN, CITY POLICE CHIEF) "THE INVESTIGATION IS IN PROGRESS AND WE HAVE BEEN INTERROGATING A NUMBER OF SUSPECTS BUT THERE IS NO SPECIFIC ARREST SO FAR, THERE IS NO SPECIFIC INFORMATION SO FAR, BUT WE ARE PROGRESSING ON VARIOUS ASPECTS OF THE INVESTIGATION." The attack ended Pakistan's hopes of hosting high profile sports events for months, if not years. APTN STORY NUMBER: 597869 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: / ap_archive Facebook: / aparchives Instagram: / apnews You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...
