Security forces foil BLA's attempt to take over PSX.

KARACHI: Gunmen armed with grenades attacked the Pakistan Stock Exchange in Karachi on Monday in a bid to take hostages, martyring two guards and a policeman before security forces killed all four of the attackers, security officials said.

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility in a post on Twitter. Senior counter-terrorism official Raja Umar Khattab also verified the claim. The group also circulated to the media a photograph of four men in full body armor and camouflage outfits, saying they were the militants who attacked the stock exchange.

"They had come to carry out an attack inside the building and take hostages inside," Sindh Rangers Director General Major General Omer Bukhari told media, adding all attackers had been killed within eight minutes.

Karachi police chief Ghulam Nabi Memon said the gunmen attacked with grenades and guns after pulling up in a silver car. Two guards and a policeman were killed and seven people were wounded, Deputy Inspector General of Police Sharjil Kharal told media. There were no reports of any wounded among the brokers and employees inside the exchange

A counter-terrorism official said the attackers were carrying significant quantities of ammunition and grenades in backpacks. "We locked ourselves in our offices," said Asad Javed, who works at a brokerage in the stock exchange building, which is in a high security zone that also houses the head offices of several banks. Javed said he was on the ground floor when he heard gunfire and an explosion and people scattered for safety. Broker Yaqub Memon said he and others were huddled inside their offices while the attack was underway. As the firing ended and the gunmen were killed, police gathered all the employees and brokers in a single room while security forces went floor by floor to ensure that no explosives had been left behind, he said.

Shazia Jehan, a police spokesman, said the bomb disposal team was also called to the stock exchange to clear the building of any explosive devises.

Local television stations broadcast images of police in full body armor surrounding the building but still staying outside the high-walled compound of the stock exchange. Rizwan Ahmend, a police official at the scene, said that after opening fire, the gunmen entered the stock exchange grounds. He said that after the attack was over, food supplies were found on the bodies of...