Militants rattle Pakistan with air base attack that leaves 43 dead

ISLAMABAD Taliban militants stormed an air force base in Pakistan’s troubled northwest on Friday, setting off an hours-long gun battle that killed 43 people and bolstered fears of rebel capacity to retaliate despite army operations.

Militants wearing uniforms of the paramilitary Frontier Constabulary force attacked Badaber air base in the suburbs of Peshawar city in the early morning, army spokesman Major General Asim Saleem Bajwa said.

“The security forces surrounded them within a radius of 50 meters and killed 13 attackers,” Bajwa said.

The attackers entered the air base from two points and divided into groups.

One of the groups targeted a mosque inside the base and killed 16 people at morning prayer. Most of those killed were air force personnel.

Another group stormed a nearby barracks and killed seven more.

A young army captain and two soldiers were also killed in the gun battle, which lasted for several hours.

“Those killed on our side included 23 air force personnel, three army soldiers and four civilians,” Bajwa said.

Twenty-nine people were also injured, including two soldiers, he said.

Bajwa alleged that the militants used neighboring Afghanistan as their base for the attack and came from across the border. He did not make any direct accusations toward the Kabul government.

“The militants came from Afghanistan, where the attack was planned. The attackers were controlled from Afghanistan and were in touch with the handlers,” he said.

Militants were armed with rocket-launchers, hand grenades and other weapons, Bajwa said, adding that they arrived in a vehicle that dropped them at the gate of the base.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, saying they killed “50 security men.” Spokesman Muhammad Khurasani said women and children were given safe exit.

Peshawar city police chief Mubarik Zeb told media that the militants may have launched the attack from the adjacent Khyber tribal region.

It was the first major attack on a security force compound since the Taliban stormed an army-run school in Peshawar in December, killing about 150 people, including 136 students.

The attack calls into doubt claims by the civilian government and the army of having “broken the back of militants” in the country.

It also raises questions about the gains of military offensives in the tribal regions, launched in June last year to eliminate militants.

The army says more than 3,000 militants have been killed in the military drive.

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