ANALYSTS' VIEW - Sri Lanka cricket team attacked in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Six Sri Lankan cricketers and their British assistant coach were wounded when gunmen attacked their bus as it drove under police escort on Tuesday to a stadium in the Pakistani city of Lahore.

Following are some comments from analysts on the wider implications of the attack:

M.J. GOHEL, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OF UK-BASED ASIA-PACIFIC FOUNDATION THINK TANK

"This embarrasses the Pakistani government enormously. It was all too predictable. The aim was clearly to perpetrate mass casualties and mass horror.

"The worry is that it was known that an attack could take place. Pakistan has become a safe haven for terrorists. It is going to put a lot of people off investing in and visiting Pakistan.

It was a very soft target. So the team was meant to be extremely well-protected. How is it that gunmen could have penetrated the security, carried out the attack and then all escaped?"

ROBERT AYERS, SECURITY ANALYST AT BRITAIN'S ROYAL INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS