At least 10 gunmen stormed into a police station in the southern Pakistan city of Karachi today, killing five policemen and wounding one after demanding the officers recite Islamic verses, police said.
The attackers escaped by car after the dawn shoot-out about five km (three miles) from the international airport in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city and the scene of frequent religious violence. Police said one of the gunmen may have died.
The assault, one of the boldest on Karachi's police in recent years, comes as tension is running high following a deadly raid by thousands of Pakistani troops on 400 to 500 suspected al-Qaeda and other Islamist fighters last month.
"It's an act of terrorism," Karachi police chief told reporters. "The police are conducting operations against terrorists and this could be a reaction to the operation."
It was unclear which group was behind the attack, he said. Police were investigating and tightening security at police stations across the port city of 14 million people.
Islamic militants have been blamed for a string of attacks in Pakistan since President Pervez Musharraf backed the US-led war on terror in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks.