The terror attack at the Pakistan Navy's airbase in Karachi ended on Monday afternoon with the security forces killing four terrorists and gaining control after a 17-hour operation. Intruders who had entered the high-security facility had set off multiple explosions.
Fourteen persons, including one naval officer and four terrorists, were killed at the end of the stand-off, and two PC-3 Orion aircraft and one helicopter were destroyed. Two terrorists escaped, according to Interior Minister Rehman Malik.
The airbase, PNS Mehran — the first Naval Air Station — was declared clear of terrorists around 3.45 p.m. but firing had stopped much earlier. The area was declared clear only after a combing operation.
Rejecting reports of a possible hostage situation — triggered by the duration of the operation — Mr. Malik said there were 11 Chinese and six Americans in the base when the terrorists struck. But they were quickly taken out of the premises. Naval personnel physically tugged away Navy assets that were in the line of fire. The delay in flushing out the terrorists was also caused by the necessity to ensure minimum damage to naval assets.
The terrorists, according to Chief of the Naval Staff Noman Bashir, were heavily armed. They fired six rockets and were very determined.
Rocket launchers
While Mr. Malik refused to disclose their ethnicity, he said they had rocket launchers, light machine guns and bombs strapped to their bodies. They entered the premises by scaling the outer wall, cutting the barbed wire and moving in the zone uncovered by security cameras. Also, they were dressed in black to avoid detection at night.
Though initial reports suggested a dozen terrorists had entered the facility, Mr. Malik said there were only six. The fires triggered by the explosions raged well past midnight.
At least a dozen explosions were heard inside the fortified premises but it was unclear whether they were triggered by the terrorists or were a case of the fire setting off combustible material found aplenty in any aviation facility.
Once the exchange of fire began late Sunday night, the terrorists were confined to a three-storey office building. Punctuated with spells of silence, the gun battle between the terrorists and security personnel — including SSG commandos and Pakistan Marines — continued through the night and no civilian force was initially allowed access to the airbase. Ambulances were also kept waiting outside first.
Published - May 23, 2011 05:33 pm IST
