At least 6 killed as gunmen attack Karachi stock exchange

KARACHI, Pakistan — At least six people were killed when gunmen attacked the Pakistan Stock Exchange in Karachi on Monday, with a police officer among the dead after the assailants opened fire and hurled a grenade at the trading floor, police said.

Four security guards, a police officer and a bystander were killed in the ensuing melee, according to a statement from the Karachi police.

Security forces shot dead four of the gunmen, police added.

“Police have recovered modern automatic weapons and explosive materials from the terrorists,” the statement said.

Karachi police chief Ghulam Nabi Memon said the attackers pulled up in a car outside the trading floor and hurled a grenade at the building before opening fire.

“Four attackers have been killed,” he said.

Karachi was once a hotspot for crime and political and ethnic violence, with heavily armed groups tied to politicians frequently gunning down opponents and launching attacks on residential areas.

However, the situation has largely stabilized in recent years following operations by security agencies against armed political outfits.

Shazia Jehan, a police spokesman, says the bomb disposal squad has also been called to the stock exchange building and was trying to clear the building of explosive devises. There were no other details.

No terror group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Karachi stock exchange is Pakistan’s largest and oldest stock exchange, incorporated today with the exchanges in Islamabad and Lahore.