Lahore, July 12 (ANI): Eight Pakistani police and prison staff were shot dead, and nine were wounded by gunmen, after they stormed a building in the eastern city of Lahore where they were sleeping, police has said.

The gunmen came early in the morning, entered the building and opened fire. Eight were martyred and nine others were wounded, The Dawn quoted Lahore police chief Aslam Tareen, as saying.

It was the second attack in three days on security personnel in the province of Punjab, raising fears of a fresh wave of violence in the political heartland of Pakistan.

The attackers arrived on motorbikes and targeted a building in the densely populated area of Ichra, where up to 35 police and prison staff had been living.

The Pakistani Taliban has accepted responsible for the attack and vowed more violence in the region. (ANI)