Pakistan police: 2 die in gunfight in Lahore siege

LAHORE, Pakistan — Pakistani police say two people have been killed in a gunfight at a federal building in the eastern city of Lahore.

Senior police official Chaudhry Shafiq says one of the dead wore a suicide jacket laden with explosives.

The attack began Thursday morning, when gunmen entered a building housing the Federal Investigation Agency, a premier law enforcement organization that deals with matters ranging from immigration to terrorism.

The attack is the latest to rock this U.S.-allied nuclear-armed country.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — Gunmen entered a federal law enforcement building in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore on Thursday, firing shots and terrifying employees in the latest in a string of attacks to rock this U.S.-allied nuclear-armed country as it prepares to launch a major offensive in a Taliban and al-Qaida stronghold.

In the Taliban-riddled northwest, meanwhile, a suicide car bomber detonated his vehicle next to a police station, killing at least eight people, while a suspected U.S. missile strike killed four alleged militants, officials said.

The attack in Lahore occurred at a building housing the Federal Investigation Agency, a premier law enforcement organization that deals with matters ranging from immigration to terrorism. Local media channels reported that hostages were being held.

“We are under attack,” said Mohammad Riaz, an FIA employee reached inside the building via phone by The Associated Press. “I can see two people hit, but I do not know who they are.”

The attack appeared similar to a siege mounted on the army’s headquarters over the past weekend that left 23 people dead and was claimed by the Taliban as their work. The militants have also claimed credit for other attacks in recent days, warning Pakistan to stop pursuing them in military operations.

The Pakistani army has given no time frame for the expected offensive in South Waziristan, but has reportedly already sent two divisions totaling 28,000 men and blockaded the region.

Fearing the looming offensive, about 200,000 people have fled South Waziristan since August, moving in with relatives or renting homes in the Tank and Dera Ismail Khan areas, a local government official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.