Gunmen attack Pakistan stock exchange with grenades and guns

A plainclothes police officer surveys the site of the attack at the Pakistan Stock Exchange entrance in Karachi (Picture: REUTERS)

Four gunmen have been killed after an attack on the Pakistan Stock Exchange in the southern city of Karachi, police have said.

The attackers used grenades and guns to target the building – with intense and loud shots heard in videos posted online by witnesses.

Karachi police chief Ghulam Nabi Memon told Reuters: ‘Four attackers have been killed, they had come in a silver Corolla car.’ Two other people were also killed, the military said.

Rizwan Ahmend, a police official at the scene, said the attackers opened fire at the entrance and entered the stock exchange grounds. It was not immediately known whether any of the gunmen were able to enter the building itself.

Inside the stock exchange, broker Yaqub Memon said he and others are huddled inside their offices.

Heavily armed special forces have surrounded the building located in the heart of the city’s financial district, where the Pakistan State Bank is located as well as the headquarters of several national and international financial institutions.

Local television stations are showing police in full body armour surrounding the building but still staying outside the high walled compound of the stock exchange.

The building is in a high-security zone and also houses the head offices of many private banks.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility. Pakistan has long been plagued by Islamist militant violence but attacks have become less frequent in recent years.

The gunmen initially threw a grenade then opened fire on a security post outside the building, Reuters reports.

‘The situation is still unfolding and management, with the help of security forces, is managing the security and controlling the situation,’ the Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) said on Twitter.

This is a breaking story we will be updating when we can.