LAHORE, Jan 16: Five personnel of law enforcement agencies were wounded seriously in a terrorist attack at the main gate of the airport in early hours of Thursday.

Apparently, there is no other motive except for the terrorism, Cantonment police SP Dr Usman told Dawn saying that some external hand could be involved in the act or it might be a backlash of the crackdown on Jihadi outfits.

So far investigation has not found any other motive like personal enmity or robbery, he said.

A guard of Airport Security Force Arshad Mahmood told police that he was performing duty along with Majeed, Khalil and Zulfiqar of his cadre and sub-inspector Abdul Aziz at the gate when the incident took place.

Besides, he said that assistant sub-inspector Falak Sher and his two constables of the Punjab police were also present there and military police was also on guard duty.

Arshad said that a car coming from Abid Majeed Road headed towards the main gate. A gun-toting man came out of the car and opened fire, he said. Through the empties recovered from the scene of crime, it was known later that the weapon used was a 444 rifle.

The SP said that the personnel first thought that the man was headed towards them to deposit his licensed gun as usually happened for his entry into the airport.

First the attacker made single shots from the rifle and later changed a magazines and opened a burst, the SP said and added that it ended in injuries to five of the men on guard duty, including Arshad, Majeed, Zulfiqar, Falak Sher and Aziz.