Islamabad: Unidentified gunmen opened fire on a security patrol in a crowded Islamabad market on Tuesday injuring one police commando, according to officials, in a rare attack in Pakistan`s capital.
The incident occurred in Melody Market, a congested shopping and eating area, as a Rapid Response Force (RRF) comprising both paramilitary rangers and civilian police were patrolling, police official Abdul Majeed told AFP.
"One personnel of the elite force has been wounded and taken to the hospital," Majeed said, adding that the firing was now over.
Details of the attack including the number of gunmen were not yet clear but police are combing the area searching for the culprits, Majeed said.
A second police official confirmed to AFP the commando had been shot, while a spokesman for Islamabad`s Polyclinic hospital said the man had "received two bullets -- one on his hand and one in the chest. He is currently being operated on."
The RRF was recently established and began patrolling Islamabad in late May following twin bomb attacks that killed one and wounded another.
The city has been on high alert for a militant backlash against air strikes in the restive tribal areas late May which killed at least 75.
While thousands have been killed in militant violence in Pakistan in recent years, attacks on the capital, much of which is heavily guarded, have been rare.
