Mission accomplished; forces overpower Manawan attackers

Security forces on Monday overpowered attackers who besieged a police academy and declared victory as scores of policemen took up position on the rooftop of the centre.Ambulances raced in and out of the compound at top-speed ferrying casualties to hospital. The road outside the academy, just outside the city of Lahore, was clogged with ambulances, onlookers and army vehicles.The army cordoned off the entire area and prevented reporters from going inside the compound, as a military helicopter flew overhead at low altitude.At least three bearded men in vests put their hands in the air and surrendered to the small group of armed security forces and commandos on the rooftop of the main academy building just outside the city of Lahore.The forces shouted "Allahu Akbar" (God is greater), flashed V for victory signs and pumped bullets into the air, a traditional sign of celebration, nearly eight hours after attackers stormed the compound.A crowd of several hundred people gathered near the training centre at the conclusion of the operation shouting "long live the Pakistan army".A five-minute walk away, a horse lay motionless on the road, apparently dead, an AFP reporter said.Police officer Babar Baluch told AFP that he had been inside the training camp during the operation."I saw eight to 10 bodies," he said but there was no top-level confirmation of the overall death toll.Two isolated gunshots rang out in the vicinity of the centre in the first 30 minutes after the security forces declared victory, said an AFP reporter.