Karachi stock exchange building attack: 2 civilians, 4 gunmen dead

Four gunmen stormed into Pakistan’s largest and oldest stock exchange in the southern port city of Karachi on Monday morning killing at least two people, according to local media reports.

 The four attackers have also been eliminated, the Karachi police said. At least four people have been reported injured in the attack.

The attackers drove to the barricaded entrance of the stock exchange in a silver Corolla car a little before 10 am, got off and hurled a grenade at security personnel before opening fire from automatic firearms.

Police officer Rizwan Ahmed said the gunmen opened fire at the entrance and entered the stock exchange grounds. The complex was soon surrounded by heavily armed special forces, according to sources.

Sources said four security guards and a police sub-inspector were killed in the attack apart from the four gunmen.

Karachi police chief Ghulam Nabi Memon told Reuters that four attackers had been killed.

The stock exchange is located in the heart of Karachi’s financial district, where the Pakistan State Bank is located as well as the headquarters of several national and international financial institutions.

As security personnel tried to stop the attackers, broker Yaqub Memon said he and others stayed huddled inside their offices.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.