- Thilan Samaraweera and Tharanga Paranavitana taken to hospital
- Five players plus assistant coach suffer minor injuries
- Rest of Sri Lanka squad evacuated by helicopter from stadium
- Match referee Britain's Chris Broad caught up in attack but unhurt
- Second Test in Lahore abandoned
- ECB 'saddened' by 'senseless attacks' in Pakistan
At least five policemen were killed and two cricketers hospitalised after terrorists opened fire on the Sri Lankan team convoy.
The team bus was clearly the main target of the attack, and somehow survived attacks by rockets, grenades and machine guns, which left numerous holes in all four sides of the vehicle.
The bus driver, Mehar Mohammad Khalil, has described the full arsenal of weapons that was deployed by the terrorists.
"I was turning the bus towards the stadium near the main roundabout when I saw a rocket fired at us... it missed us and hit an electric pole after which all hell broke loose," he said.
Khalil's quick reactions may have saved lives, as he steered the bus away from the shooting and dashed across the final 500 metres separating the Liberty roundabout - the site of the attack - from the Gaddafi Stadium.
"When the firing started one of the players shouted 'go, go' and somehow I kept my cool, ducked and pressed the accelerator and sped the bus towards the stadium," Khalil said.
"They were skilled and they knew what they wanted. God helped us because they also threw a grenade under the bus which exploded after the bus had passed over it," he added.
Khalil, a professional driver for the past 22 years, has worked as a bus driver for many other foreign visiting teams and said there normally would be a police presence in front of the vehicle and elite commandos behind to provide security.
"I salute the elite commandos who kept the attackers engaged while I was able to speed the bus away," he said.
The death toll of what must rank as the worst terror attack ever to be unleashed on a cricket tour is understood to stand at seven, as two civilians were also killed in the crossfire. Several other players suffered shrapnel wounds, while the Pakistani umpire Ahsan Raza was shot in the back.
The Sri Lankan team were on their way to the third day's play of the second Test at the Gaddafi Stadium when they were ambushed on the Liberty Roundabout, the former England allrounder Dominic Cork had earlier told the Today programme.
Cork, who has been commentating on the series, told the BBC that the two players most badly injured were Thilan Samaraweera, who suffered a gunshot wound in his thigh, and Tharanga Paranavitana, who suffered shrapnel wounds in his chest.
Both men were taken to hospital, but Sri Lankan officials suggested that neither was in a life-threatening condition.
The other players to be hurt were Kumar Sangakkara, Ajantha Mendis and Thilan Thushara.
Reporters on the scene said that 12 terrorists armed with grenade launchers and automatic machine guns had arrived on rickshaws and unleashed a sudden attack, designed to cause the maximum damage in the shortest possible time. The shooting is estimated to have lasted just 90 seconds, whereupon the attackers fled the scene.
A vehicle carrying match officials which was following the Sri Lankan team bus was also caught up in the attack.
The Test was being umpired by Simon Taufel and Steve Davies while Nadeem Ghauri was the TV umpire and Chris Broad, father of England bowler Stuart Broad, was the match referee.
"The bus came under attack as we were driving to the stadium," said Mahela Jayawardene, the Sri Lankan captain, in an interview with the Cricinfo website.
"The gunmen targeted the wheels of the bus first and then the bus. We all dived to the floor to take cover. About five players have been injured and also Paul Farbrace [the assistant coach, who is English], but most of the injuries appear to be minor at this stage and caused by debris."
The attack has disproved the oft-held theory that terrorists would never target cricket tours on the sub-continent, simply because the sport is so universally popular. It has effectively ended Pakistan's chances of hosting the 2011 World Cup, which was intended to have been shared between the four Asian countries - India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
In the shorter term, there may be a knock-on effect on the Indian Premier League, which is due to start on April 10. India has also suffered at the hands of terrorists recently, when attackers believed to be of Pakistan extraction raided hotels last November, killing 179 people.
"I want to say it's the same pattern, the same terrorists who attacked Mumbai," Salman Taseer, governor of central Punjab province, told reporters at the site of the attack.
"They are trained criminals. They were not common people. The kind of weaponry they had, the kind of arms they had, the way they attacked ... they were not common citizens, they were obviously trained."
The England and Wales Cricket Board, meanwhile, say they have been "saddened" by the news in Lahore.
A statement released this morning read: "The ECB is shocked and saddened by the senseless attack on the Sri Lankan cricketers and match officials by terrorists in Lahore today. Our thoughts are with the families of those who have been killed or injured in this despicable attack.
"The ECB has also been in touch with both boards, the ICC and the Sri Lanka team to offer their thoughts and condolences to those involved."
Players injured by attack and injuries
- Mahela Jayawardena - cut to ankle, minor
- Kumar Sangakkara - shrapnel cut to shoulder, minor
- Ajantha Mendis - shrapnel wound to back, minor
- Tharanga Paranavithana - shrapnel wound to his chest, minor, but went to hospital
- Thilan Samaraweera - worst injured with what appeared to be a shrapnel wound to his leg. Taken to hospital, but not seriously wounded
- Paul Farbrace (assistant coach) - shrapnel wound to his arm, minor
