The Ceylon News

No arrests have been made yet

Police in Pakistan have released sketches of four men suspected of involvement in Tuesday's ambush of the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore.

Up to 14 gunmen took part in the attack which killed six policemen and a driver and injured eight tour members.

Pakistani television has meanwhile broadcast CCTV footage of the alleged attackers "nonchalantly escaping" by foot and by rickshaws and motorbikes.

Criticism has grown over apparent security lapses prior to the attack.

Separately, two Sri Lankan players wounded in the attack are recovering after surgery in Colombo, their doctors say.

There is no word on the identities or motives of the gunmen.

'Left helpless'

The drawings of the suspects show them to have short dark hair and dark eyes. They have been shown extensively on television and radio across Pakistan on Thursday.

"Police have prepared sketches of four suspects with the help of CCTV footage and they have been displayed as part of an effort to track down the perpetrators," Lahore city police chief Habib-ur Rehman told the AFP news agency.

Two of the suspects have moustaches, one is clean shaven and the fourth had a thin trace of hair on his upper lip.

Umpires, referees and officials caught up in the attack have been sharply critical of what they say were significant security failures before it happened.

Australian cricket umpire Steve Davis - one of the test match referees - said that the Sri Lankan team and its accompanying party were left "vulnerable and helpless" during the attack.

We were promised high-level security and in our hour of need that security vanished Chris Broad, ICC match referee Lahore: A city in shock

His complaints were echoed by another referee, Chris Broad, who accused Pakistani security forces of "vanishing" during the attack.

The Chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, Ejaz Butt, said that Mr Broad's allegation was "totally fabricated" and that he would lodge a formal protest with International Cricket Council (ICC) over it.

Disqualified

There have also been criticisms made by the PML-N party of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif that the central government's recent decision to implement a major shake-up of senior police personnel in Punjab province compromised security provided for the Sri Lankan team.

The PML-N - whose leaders Nawaz and Shahbaz Sharif were last week disqualified from elected office - say that they tipped off the authorities about a possible threat to the Sri Lankan team a month ago.

However the Commissioner of Lahore, Khusro Pervez, defended the police response to the attack, pointing out in an interview to DawnNews that officers died defending the Sri Lankan bus.

In pictures: Cricketers attacked Bus driver's dramatic escape How it happened

"The top priority of the police escorts with the Sri Lankan team was to protect them and transport them to a safe location, not to combat the gunmen," he said.

Mr Pervez did admit though that there were "certain security lapses which are very vivid and very clear".

"The gunmen were meant to be combated by backup police support, which didn't arrive," he said, "and the vehicles used for escorting the Sri Lankan convoy were not adequate."

Police say that they are investigating numerous leads and have arrested two more suspects from a Punjab village in connection with the attack.

The press has reported that the arrests resulted from the discovery of a mobile phone sim card which was found from the scene of the attack.

Police say that they have been conducting a combing operation in Makkah Colony, a poor locality in Lahore, where they suspect the attackers might have been living prior to the attack. There are also reports that they have tracked down an auto rickshaw driver who may have transported some of the attackers.

Separately, two Sri Lankan cricketers who were injured in the attack have undergone surgery in a Colombo hospital, doctors say.

Tharanga Paranavitana, who had a bullet lodged in his chest, and Thilan Samaraweera, who had shrapnel in his leg, will need around six weeks to completely recover, a senior Sri Lankan sports official told the BBC.

Impact on cricket

On Wednesday, Pakistani television broadcast what it says is footage of gunmen fleeing the scene of the attack.

The grainy and edited footage on Pakistan's GEO network shows a man arriving in what appears to be a side street on a motorbike.

Masked men opened fire on the bus, killing six policemen escorting the Sri Lankans and a driver.

Seven players and an assistant coach were wounded. The team later flew back to Sri Lanka.

The attacks are expected to have massive ramifications for the cricket world, with the ICC considering whether Pakistan can co-host World Cup matches in 2011.

A staff worker of the ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross) was killed in northern Sri Lanka where the government troops and the Tamil Tiger rebels are engaged in fierce fighting, ICRC officials said here on Thursday.

A spokesperson from the ICRC's Sri Lankan office confirmed the worker was killed by shrapnel while he was returning after sending some of the seriously wounded patients from the Maaththalan hospital to an ICRC ship in the Mullaitivu district around 5 p.m. local time (1130 GMT) on Wednesday.

The spokesperson said it is not clear which party is responsible for the incident, but stressed that the ICRC will continue its humanitarian operation in the conflict zone.

The victim, K. Vijayarasa, has been serving in the ICRC since 1997 and became a team leader in 2000.

The ICRC is the only international aid agency operating in northern Sri Lanka to help conflict-affected people in the war area.

Jacques de Maio, the ICRC's head of operations for South Asia, said the ICRC believed that up to 150,000 people are still trapped in the Vanni -- the main battlefield between the troops and the Liberation Tiger of Tamil Eealm (LTTE).

The military said their offensive against the LTTE is at final stage as they have been limited to just 55 sq km of territory in Mullaittivu.

The LTTE sought to set up a separate homeland for the minority Tamil community in the north and east claiming discrimination at the hands of the Sinhalese majority ruling community.

More than 70,000 people have been killed in Asia's longest civil war since the LTTE launched their armed campaign in the mid-1980s.

No arrests have been made yet

Criticism has been mounting over apparent security lapses leading to Tuesday's attack on Sri Lanka's cricket team in the Pakistani city of Lahore.

Up to 14 gunmen took part in the attack which killed six policemen and a driver, and injured eight tour members.

Separately, the Pakistani police have released sketches of some of the suspected attackers.

And two Sri Lankan players wounded in the attack are recovering after surgery in Colombo, their doctors say.

President Asif Ali Zardari has vowed that the attackers will be caught, and punished "with iron hands".

There is no word on the identities or motives of the gunmen, who escaped.

'Source of embarrassment'

Reports say that, since the government had pledged to provide the highest levels of security to the Sri Lankan cricket team, the attack has undermined confidence in Pakistan's security apparatus.

We were promised high-level security and in our hour of need that security vanished Chris Broad, ICC match referee

A Pakistani opposition lawmaker has said the incident is a "source of embarrassment at the international level".

"This government should be ashamed and make those responsible for criminal negligence in their duties accountable," Ahsan Iqbal was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.

Australian cricket umpire Steve Davis, who was part of the team of referees for the match, has criticised Pakistan for failing to protect the team.

"There's a bit of anger there that we were let down - we had all sorts of assurances before and I'm sure the [Sri Lankan] team feels that way too," Mr Davis said.

"Despite all that, this was still able to happen and we were put in a very vulnerable position and felt very helpless."

Simon Taufel, another umpire who was caught up in the attack, has also criticised the lack of security.

In pictures: Cricketers attacked Bus driver's dramatic escape How it happened

"We were promised a nine [out of ten for security] and got delivered a two," Mr Taufel was quoted as telling reporters by the AFP news agency.

"The gunfire .. it just kept going. We thought, when's it going to stop? Who's going to come and save us, how are we going to get out of here? " he said.

"You tell me why supposedly 20 armed commandos were in our convoy and when the team bus got going again, we were left on our own? I don't have any answers to these questions."

Match referee match referee Chris Broad said Pakistan had not provided adequate protection for the team.

Mr Broad, who was in the bus when it came under fire, has accused Pakistani security forces of "vanishing" during the attack.

He said he had raised concerns about security before the team travelled to Pakistan but had been promised high level security protection.

Video footage shot during the attack showed "terrorists shooting past our van, sometimes into our van - and not a sign of a policeman anywhere," said Mr Broad.

"They had gone, left the scene, and left us to be sitting ducks.

"I am extremely angry that we were promised high-level security and in our hour of need that security vanished."

Mr Broad's claims were strongly denied by Ijaz Butt, chairman of the Pakistan Cricket Board, who referred to the policemen killed by the attackers.

Separately, two Sri Lankan cricketers who were injured in the attack have undergone surgery in a Colombo hospital, doctors say.

Tharanga Paranavitana, who had a bullet lodged in his chest, and Thilan Samaraweera, who had shrapnel in his leg, will need around six weeks to completely recover, a senior Sri Lankan sports official told the AFP.

Massive ramifications

Meanwhile, Pakistani television has broadcast what it says is footage of gunmen fleeing the scene of the attack.

The grainy and edited footage, broadcast on Pakistan's GEO network, shows a man arriving in what appears to be a side street on a motorbike.

Masked men opened fire on the bus, killing six policemen escorting the Sri Lankans and a driver.

Seven players and an assistant coach were wounded. The team later flew back to Sri Lanka.

The attacks are expected to have massive ramifications for the cricket world, with the ICC considering whether Pakistan can co-host World Cup matches in 2011.

Footage from security cameras showed the apparent attackers escaping unhindered from the crime scene A cricket official involved in the deadly attacks on a bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore has criticised the Pakistani security forces. Chris Broad, an International Cricket Council (ICC) match referee, said on Wednesday that he suspected insiders may have helped 12 assailants kill six police officers and a bus driver in Tuesday's attack. The criticism came as footage from security cameras was released of several attackers calmly escaping from the scene of the crime down a deserted side street. None of the men who carried out the attack was killed, and all apparently escaped, according to police. Security lapse Broad levelled his criticism of the security arrangments after arriving at UK's Manchester airport. "I raised my concerns with the ICC before the tour started and they passed on those concerns to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and they assured me through email that all security would be taken care of, presidential-style security, and clearly that didn't happen," he said. Broad was travelling in a van behind the Sri Lankan team towards Lahore's Gaddafi stadium when the two vehicles were ambushed. In depth Video: Lahore shooting Sri Lanka players recount ordeal Lahore attack stokes tensions Bus driver hailed as hero Attack rocks cricket world Witness account Lahoris lament 'shameful' attack Timeline of attacks Three foreign umpires in the second bus were unhurt, while Pakistani Ahsan Raza, a fourth match official, was shot in the chest. Seven Sri Lankan players and their assistant coach were among 19 people injured. "When you watch the TV pictures you can clearly see the white van we were in, in the middle of a roundabout and not a sign of a policeman anywhere," Broad said. "They had clearly gone, left the scene and left us to be sitting ducks. I am extremely angry we were promised high-level security and in our hour of need that security vanished. "I am extremely fortunate to be here today." The surveillance video, broadcast on Pakistani television on Wednesday, showed the attackers walking along the middle of the side street and escaping on motorcycles. The men are seen carrying their assault rifles and are unhindered by any police pursuit. Bus isolated Broad was unclear as to why the Sri Lankan bus seemed isolated during the cricket series. "On the first two days [of the Test], both buses left [the hotel] at the same time with escorts," he said. "On this particular day the Pakistan bus left five minutes after the Sri Lankan bus. Why? "There were times during the Karachi Test when the Sri Lankans went first and Pakistan went afterwards. "After this happened you start to think: 'Did someone know something and they held the Pakistan bus back?'" However, Broad said that he did not have any evidence of a conspiracy. "There were plenty of police there and yet these terrorists came in, did what they had to do and then went again. It is beyond me," he said. Police admission Responding to the criticism, Khusro Pervez, the Lahore police commissioner, admitted in an interview on Thursday that there had been "certain security lapses which are very vivid and very clear". He said that "back-up police support ... didn't arrive." "All convoys are provided outer cordons, but in this case the outer cordon did not respond or it was not enough," Pervez said. "The vehicles used for escorting the Sri Lankan convoy were not adequate." But earlier Habibur Rehman, the Lahore police chief, praised his men for what he called their defence of the team. "It was precisely because of police valour and bravery that the Sri Lankan team and the international umpires survived," he said. The Pakistani authorities say they have questioned a number of suspects as they continue to hunt for the armed men. Detentions Pakistani officials said earlier that more than 100 people had been detained as investigators hunted for the attackers. A reward of $125,000 has been offered for help in finding those behind Tuesday's attack, for which no one has claimed responsibility. Speculation has largely focused on homegrown groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba, which India has blamed for last year's attack on Mumbai, Laskhar-Jhangvi and the so-called Pakistani Taliban. However, some people in Pakistan have suggested the assailants may have crossed from India or co-operating with Sri Lanka's Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) rebels.