12 Killed As Militants Storm Pak Naval Base In Karachi

Mangalore Today News Network

Karachi, May 23: Militants stormed one of Pakistan’s main military bases here on Sunday night, triggering explosions and gunbattles three weeks after the US killing of Osama bin Laden.

According to DawnNews there could be 10 to 12 attackers still inside the base as at least six reported to be dead amid terrorist’s attack.

According to the Pakistan Navy’s spokesman, Commodore Irfan ul Haq, four Pakistan Navy officials and a Rangers soldier were martyred in the attack, while at least seven Navy officials were injured as well.

Two P3C aircrafts were also destroyed during the attack, he added.

AFP at 02:00 am reported that two Pakistan Navy staff were killed in the attack, where troops were locked in battle with gunmen, a spokesman said Monday.“One of our officers and one Navy personnel have been martyred,” Commodore Irfan ul Haq, a spokesman for the Pakistan Navy, told AFP.“The operation is continuing. They have completely destroyed one of Pakistan’s aircraft,” he added.

An AFP reporter saw scores of soldiers and navy commando reinforcements entering the base, where flames and smoke could be seen rising into the night sky. An AFP photographer heard seven blasts and periodic bursts of gunfire.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but Pakistan’s military has long been on the frontline of gun, suicide and bomb attacks blamed on the country’s main Taliban faction and other Al-Qaeda-linked militant groups.

The Taliban have recently repeatedly threatened Western and Pakistani government targets to avenge the killing of bin Laden by US Navy SEALs in the garrison city of Abbottabad near the capital Islamabad on May 2.

Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani condemned Sunday’s attack, and ordered his interior minister to Karachi and to “coordinate the security efforts being taken by the civil and military officials,” his office said in a statement.

Commander Salman Ali, spokesman for the Pakistan Navy, told AFP that members of the security forces were fighting against gunmen.

“An exchange of fire with terrorists is continuing. Their firing is fading away and we have launched a search operation,” he said.

 

“It’s a terrorist attack. More than 10 terrorists are inside. They have attacked a navy air station located in a Pakistan Air Force base,” said home ministry official Sharfuddin Memon from the southern province Sindh.

“One of the four aircraft inside the premises has been damaged,” he said, adding that at least 10 people had been wounded.

“I have no information whether they are the attackers or Navy personnel.”In October 2009, Taliban militants beseiged the army headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi for two days, killing 22 people and raising serious questions over why it took the military so long to put down the assault.

Karachi, Pakistan’s financial capital whose sea port is used by Nato to ship supplies to the estimated 130,000 US-led foreign troops fighting the Taliban in neighbouring Afghanistan, has recently seen a spike in attacks on the military.

On April 28, four naval personnel and a passing motorcyclist were killed in a bombing, two days after four others were killed in navy bus bombings.

Last week, a Saudi diplomat was killed in a hail of bullets on his way to work at his country’s consulate in the city, just days after attackers threw grenades at the diplomatic mission.


An unidentified number of terrorists, believed to be around 15, armed with rocket-launchers and hand-grenades, attacked the PNS Mehran Air Base, located on Sharea Faisal, late on Sunday night, killing at least two naval officials and injuring as many besides destroying a US made maritime partrol Orion aircraft on the premises.

Later reports claimed that the casualties had risen to five dead and nine injured while a second Orion aircraft was also reportedly damaged.

Numerous explosions and gunshots were heard as the attackers continued to fight with the troops at the Mehran Naval Aviation base till the filing of the report.

Sources said that the terrorists, who could be from al-Qaeda, entered the air base from the Malir River side and launched an attack on the Mehran Air Base, which is adjacent to the PAF Base Faisal. Pakistan Naval Station Mehran is in fact the headquarters of the Pakistan Navy’s air arm. Commissioned on September 26, 1975, the Mehran Air Base now houses more than 25 aircraft and helicopters.

The huge explosions and firing sent a wave of panic and shock in the area.

The PAF Base Faisal and PNS Mehran were cordoned off by the Rangers and Army. Commandos from the Army and Navy, backed by Rangers, launched an operation against the terrorists.

It was reported that firefights were going on at several places simulataneously. The officials had switched off all the lights as they took on the heavily-armed terrorists.

Soon after the attack was launched by terrorists, large explosions rocked the base and the surrounding areas. The intensity of the explosions was such that they were heard far and wide, including in large parts of Gulshan-e-Iqbal and Dalmia.

One such explosion destroyed a P-3 Orion aircraft, which the navy had recently acquired from the United States. It was feared that a second aircraft was also subsequently lost. Eyewitnesses said black smoke billowed from several points at the base.

Sources said that terrorists used heavy weapons besides hand-grenades and rocket launchers to strike at the aircraft and other installations.

Naval officials confirmed that during the firefight, two officials, Lt Yasir Abbas and Fireman Khalilur Rehman, who were shifted to the PN Shifa in injured condition, had died. Subsequent reports put the number of dead at five and injured at nine. The dead included firemen Javed Iqbal and Javed Ahmed and Rangers official Khalil Ahmed. There were also nine injured, most of them from the Army and Rangers. The injured have been shifted to the PNS Shifa and PNS Rahat. Many of the terrorists were also reportedly killed and injured. Unofficial reports said that at least one of the injured terrorists was captured alive.

The entrance of the PAF Museum became the main battle point at the time of filing of the report as more explosions and gunshots were heard from the scene. The main Sharea Faisal was blocked and traffic was divereted to alternative routes. However, a large number of journalists had assembled in front of entrance to the PAF Museum and were constantly reporting from the site.

There were also unconfirmed reports that the terrorists had held several officials hostage at a building at PNS Mehran where they were holed. However, naval officials denied the report. They also refuted reports that there were any foreigners held hostage or injured inside the base.

Panicky residents of the nearby PAF Falcon Complex closed their doors and windows on reports of the attack.

Sources said Pakistan had received seven Lockheed P-3C Orion. Two upgraded P-3C Orion were delivered on 7th January, 2010 while one was delivered in Nov 2009. Another two advanced P-3C Orion aircraft are to be delivered soon .

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani remained in touch with all the services chiefs to inquire about the details of the terrorist attack on the PNS Mehran and directed concerned authorities to take all measures to protect the lives of officials and public property.

The prime minister also talked to Chairman Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee (CJCSC) General Khalid Shameem Wynne and asked him to ensure coordinated action against the terrorists. Prime Minister Gilani also talked to Interior Minister Rehman Malik to get updates on new developments. He asked Malik to immediately reach Karachi and coordinate the security efforts being taken by civil and military officials.

Agencies add: Naval sources said a P3C Orion aircraft was the target of the terrorists. “No one knows how the terrorists got into the facility since they did not cross any of the check posts,” said a naval source.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik confirmed the attack. He said terrorists had launched an armed attack on PNS Mehran.

TV images showed smoke billowing from the naval base. Earlier, four blasts were reported from the area near the PAF Base Faisal. Ambulances and fire tenders were seen rushing to the site of the attack.

Al Qaeda-linked Taliban militants, who have vowed to avenge the killing of Osama bin Laden by US special forces, have carried out several attacks since his death on May 2.

“They were equipped with sophisticated weapons,” navy spokesman Commodore Irfan ul-Haq told Reuters. Another spokesman said that one P-3C Orion, a maritime partrol aircraft, had been destroyed. “The attackers are still inside and intermittent firing is continuing.”

Interior Minister Rehman Malik said the militants had attacked from the rear of the base. “We have been able to confine them to one building and an operation is underway either to kill or capture them.

Officials said the gunmen had attacked three hangars housing aircraft. Nine explosions were reported from the base, with jet fuel tanks possibly catching fire and exploding. Almost three hours after the start of the attack, gunbattles between militants and commandos continued.

At least a dozen ambulances were parked outside the base,waiting to take wounded to hospital. Pakistani military andparamilitary reinforcements were pouring in, with four vehicles carrying about 10 troops each moving into the base.