A group of gunmen attacked the Pakistan Police Academy with grenades and assault rifles in eastern Pakistan . Security forces are battling to retake the police academy. A senior Pakistani official told the reporters that 40 people had been killed and 80 injured in the attack on the outskirts of Lahore. Firing was continuing more than seven hours after it began with about 30-40 people thought to be trapped inside.

The attack comes less than a month after gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore. In that attack, six policemen were killed, while up to 14 gunmen escaped.

Pakistani officials say it is too early to say who is responsible for Monday’s assault in Lahore.

Escalating militant violence in Pakistan has been concentrated in the country’s north-west near the border with Afghanistan.