Militants attack police academy in east Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Pakistani authorities Monday blamed Taliban-linked militants for a bloody daylong assault on a police academy outside the eastern city of Lahore that left about 20 people dead, including at least four assailants.

In a methodical strike, heavily armed gunmen stormed the training center as recruits gathered for morning drills. The assailants held off elite army and paramilitary troops for nearly eight hours before being overpowered. At least three attackers blew themselves up as troops overran their last stronghold, an upper floor in the compound’s main building.

The attack was yet another sign of intensifying turmoil in Pakistan, considered an important U.S. ally in the fight against Islamic militants despite the struggles of its year-old civilian government to stay in control. President Barack Obama declared last week that quelling the insurgency in Pakistan is key to success in the war in neighboring Afghanistan. He tied continuing U.S. aid to progress in confronting the militants.

The assault on the police compound, which began about 8 a.m., was swift and sudden. Pakistani news reports cited witnesses as saying that the gunmen, some in civilian dress and some in what appeared to be police uniforms, hit the lightly guarded compound from several directions, hurling grenades and gunning down police cadets on the compound’s parade ground.

Shortly before 4 p.m., acting Interior Minister Rehman Malik announced that authorities had regained control of the compound. He told reporters later that the attackers were linked to Baitullah Mahsud, commander of Pakistan’s Taliban movement.

About 90 people were reported hurt.