Obama ‘deeply concerned’

Obama ‘deeply concerned’
Washington, March 3President Barack Obama said today that the United States was deeply concerned by an attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Pakistan and the US State Department called it a “vicious attack on innocent civilians.” A dozen gunmen attacked the team’s bus with rifles, grenades and rockets on its way to Lahore’s Gaddafi stadium, wounding seven players and a British coach and killing at least eight Pakistanis, Pakistani officials said.
“We condemn this vicious attack on innocent civilians, but also on the positive relations that Pakistan and Sri Lanka are trying to enjoy,” State Department Acting Deputy spokesman Gordon Duguid said at a daily briefing.
“This is not just an attack on individuals; this is an attack on peaceful, normal relations,” Duguid said.
Sending condolences to the families of the victims, to the injured and the wounded, the State Department praised the efforts of the Pakistani police. “The Pakistani police, I am given to understand, was extremely brave in protecting their charges, and should be commended,” he said. — Agencies