Gunmen attack the Pakistan Stock Exchange

Four gunmen have been shot dead after attacking the Pakistan Stock Exchange in Karachi, in which four security guards and a police officer were also killed.

The attackers arrived in a car before using grenades and rifles to attack the building, leaving another seven people wounded, local media reported.

Traders scrambled for cover in their offices and were evacuated out a back entrance as heavily armed police swooped in and a firefight broke out.

Four gunmen have been shot dead after launching a gun and grenade attack on the Pakistani Stock Exchange which also left four security guards and a police officer dead

Officers said the gunmen began their attack in a car park before attempting to storm through the main entrance while firing at security

All gunmen were shot dead, the Karachi Inspector General told Geo TV, and police are now inside the building conducting a search.

Officers said the attackers were wearing off-duty police uniforms, were armed with sophisticated weapons, and carrying a bag likely filled with explosives. 

Abid Ali Habib, Director Pakistan Stock Exchange, said the gunmen launched their attack in a car park – firing indiscriminately at the building.

They then made their way to the main entrance, where they exchanged fire with security guards. 

Video taken from across the street shows a car parked close to the entrance while two men take cover behind concrete pillars and fire shots at officers.

What appears to be a dead body can be seen laying in the street.

More footage then showed heavily armed Pakistani police and paramilitaries storming through the same entrance, where two bodies could be seen.

It is not clear if the bodies were of the attackers, or security guards killed during the assault.

It was also not immediately clear whether any of the attackers made it inside the building – though shots were fired into the exchange from outside.  

 Heavily armed police quickly arrived on the scene and shot the attackers – who were said to be wearing off-duty cop uniforms – dead

Officers said the attackers were armed with sophisticated weapons and were carrying a bag that was likely filled with explosives 

Inside the stock exchange, broker Yaqub Memon says 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 armor surrounding the building but still staying outside the high walled compound of the stock exchange.

No militant group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Karachi stock exchange is Pakistan’s largest and oldest stock exchange, incorporated today with the exchanges in Islamabad and Lahore.