Taliban gunmen attack Pakistan air force base in Peshawar
18 Sep 2015
Taliban gunmen stormed a Pakistani air force base in northwestern Peshawar early morning today, Friday, injuring more than 25 people, including an army major and three soldiers.
The military claims to have killed six terrorists so far while a clearing operations are under way in the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) base and its surroundings in Badaber area of Peshawar.
According to the Dawn newspaper, two security forces personnel were injured in the exchange of fire, one of whom has been identified as Major Haseeb of the Quick Reaction Force (QRF).
Director-General (DG) Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) Major-General Asim Bajwa said on Twitter that six militants had been killed in an exchange of fire with security forces.
Bajwa said the attack was launched by a group of seven to 10 terrorists. The militants attacked a guard post and tried to force their way into the Badaber air base, Bajwa said on Twitter, adding that a gunbattle was still underway.
The terrorists were reported to be wearing explosives-laden jackets and armed with hand-propelled grenades, mortars, AK-47 rifles.
Tehreek-i-Taliban (TTP) Pakistan has claimed responsibility for the attack at the Peshawar Air Force Camp early on Friday morning in which six of its militants were killed.
TTP spokesperson Muhammad Khurasani claimed responsibility for the attack in an email sent to journalists.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police have cordoned off the area following the attack.
The attack comes amidst a heightened vigil by the military and increase in drone strike against terrorists.
A combination of army attacks and drone strikes against Taliban bases along the Afghan border have weaned the strike capability of the militants.
The latest terror strike follows a massacre at a military-run school last December that killed around 150 people, almost all of them children (See: Six militants to hang for December 2014 attack on Pakistan school).
