An unidentified group of armed men have infiltrated the Pakistan Stock Exchange building in the southern part of the city of Karachi as police officers respond to the scene.
A sudden bombardment
According to AP News, a police official, Rizwan Ahmend, who is at the scene of the attack stated that the perpetrators opened fire at law enforcement personnel and have invaded the inside of the stock exchange building.
No information was gathered on how many of the terrorists there were and if they got inside the building's grounds.
One of the people trapped inside, Yaqub Memon, a broker, revealed that he, along with several others, are gathered together inside their offices.
Heavily-armed special forces have responded to the scene and have circled the building found within the heart of the city's financial district. The area is also where the Pakistan State Bank is located along with the headquarters of multiple local and international financial establishments.
The terrorists came in armed with grenades and firearms and have had exchanges with police officers leading to the death of at least four assailants, as reported by Aljazeera.
The chief of Pakistan's leading rescue ambulance service, Faisal Edhi, has revealed that two terrorists were killed while they were at the gate. At the same time, the other two were injured during the exchange and took refuge inside the building but lost their lives shortly after.
The Sun reports that the gunmen killed at least four security guards and one police officer during the shootings.
Police officers claim that the terrorists were carrying sophisticated weaponry along with the bag of explosives that they used to attack the building.
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Witnesses report that the gunmen were seen to be wearing what seemed to be police uniforms as they began their assault on the stock exchange.
Imran Khan, the prime minister of Pakistan, has shared his condolences for the families of the officers and security guards that lost their lives in the attack.
Sharjeel Kharal, the Karachi deputy inspector general, was confident that the incident a terrorist attack and that there was no other explanation for it.
Local authorities recovered AK-47 rifles, hand grenades, ammunition, and other explosive materials from the bodies and equipment of the terrorists. The amount of equipment found suggests that the attackers were prepared for a drawn-out siege inside the building, police officers said.
Law enforcement has also revealed that all of the attackers involved with the group have been killed.
The director of the Pakistan Stock Exchange, Abid Ali Habib, said that the assailants rushed into the front door where they threw explosives and started firing with their weapons.
Later on, the Balochistan Liberation Army announced they were responsible for the attack at the stock exchange. For years, the group had been calling out the need for independence across the southwestern Balochistan province which is rich in gas.
The governor of the province of Sindh, Imran Ismail, posted a message on Twitter saying they strongly opposed the attack and what it stood for. Ismail has called for the capture of the perpetrators and their handlers to ensure the safety of their home.
