Six killed in grenade, gun attack on Pakistan Stock Exchange in Karachi

Gunmen have attacked the Pakistan Stock Exchange in Karachi. Police say the attackers pulled up in a car outside the trading floor and hurled a grenade at the building before opening fire. Official sources initially reported that four attackers had been killed. The death toll has since risen to six. 

The scene outside the Pakistan stock exchange during the 29 June 2020 attack. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro

Gunmen attacked the Pakistan Stock Exchange in Karachi on Monday.

At least one policeman was among the dead after the assailants opened fire and hurled a grenade at the trading floor, officials said.

Four security guards, a policeman 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, suggesting a toll of ten dead. This has not yet been confirmed.

It was a well planned attack on the investment hub of Pakistan but terrorists could not succeed.
All security officials, Police jawans should be well appreciated & well awarded.
Prayers for the martyrs.🇵🇰May Allah give strength to their families.Aameen#Karachistockexchange #pak pic.twitter.com/APsbokFIHJ

— Ahmed Din Hamza (@AhmedDinHamza9) June 29, 2020

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

Attack claimed by Balochistan separatists

The Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) later claimed responsibility in a message sent to the French press agency, AFP, saying an elite unit of fighters had carried out the assault.

The separatists have claimed a string of high-profile attacks across the country in recent years.

The BLA is one of several insurgent groups fighting primarily in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province, which has been rocked by separatist, Islamist and sectarian violence for years.

Last year, the US State Department designated the BLA as a global terrorist group, making it a crime for anyone in the United States to assist the militants and freezing any US assets they may have.