Karachi:
A brazen attack, targeting one of Pakistan's most well-guarded military installations last night, has reportedly left at least 10 security personnel dead and 15 others injured. The siege in Karachi's naval air station ended on Monday afternoon after more than 15 hours.
Confirming the development, Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik said, "The siege has been brought to an end."
The Pakistan Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack. In a statement, they said it was a "suicide operation" to avenge Osama bin Laden's death.
(Read: Pak Taliban claim responsibility)Four terrorists were killed by security forces and the bodies of three had been recovered.
"I can confirm that we have two complete bodies and one without a head who blew himself up. A fourth terrorist was also in the building where the militant blew himself up," Mr Malik said adding two could have escaped in the melee.
(Watch)Seventeen foreigners, including 11 Chinese and six Americans, who were trapped during the night-and-day-long gun battle, were also safely rescued, Mr Malik announced to newsmen.
"Reports that the militants had taken foreigners as hostages were all incorrect," he said.
Initial reports had suggested that between 10-15 terrorists stormed three hangars at the Pakistan Naval Station Mehran, a strategic air base of the Pakistan Navy close to the Karachi airport, late on Sunday night and targeted aircraft and equipment. The terrorists used rocket-propelled grenades to damage and destroy several warplanes including two P-3C Orions - recently acquired from the United States for anti-submarine and maritime surveillance operations. (
Pictures)
Commandos of the Pakistan Navy and the elite Special Service Group (SSG) were deployed to flush out the militants.
The militants apparently entered the Naval base and hangers through the Pakistan Air Force museum, a source said. "They took advantage of the fact that people at that time were leaving for home from the PAF museum inside the Faisal base," a source said.
Dawn News channel quoted witnesses as saying that they had heard up to five blasts. Heavy firing continued for over 20 minutes after the first blast occurred, following which there were reports of intermittent firing. Hundreds of paramilitary personnel surrounded the airbase while commandos from the army's elite Special Services Group were sent in to sweep the area. Footage on television showed ambulances rushing to the airbase.
The high-security area where the attack occurred also houses the Pakistan Air Force's (PAF) Southern Air Command, Air War College and museum as well as PNS Mehran.
The fact that militants were able to enter one of the country's largest military bases is another embarrassing blow to the army and will raise questions over whether the attackers had inside information. That they targeted a US supplied aircraft draws attention to American aid to the military, something generals here do not talk about, fearing criticism from the county's fiercely anti-American population.
Sunday's raid appeared to be the most serious against the military since October 2009, when militants attacked the army headquarters close to the capital, Islamabad. They held dozens hostage in a 22-hour standoff that left 23 people dead, including nine militants.
Pakistan has faced several terror strikes over the last few years, some of them claimed by the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), or Pakistani Taliban. The Taliban had vowed to avenge Osama bin Laden's death and warned of strikes. The unilateral American raid that killed bin Laden 3 weeks ago has triggered a strong backlash against Washington, as well as rare domestic criticism against the armed forces for failing to detect or prevent the operation.
(With agency inputs)