Security forces killed eight militants in Kamara Airbase operation

The valiant personnel of Pakistan Air Force and SSG Commandoes of Pak Army cleared Kamra Airbase after heavy clashes in which eight militants have been killed, official said on Thursday.

According to the reports one security official has also been lost his life and a plane damaged in the pre-dawn assault at PAF Base Minhas.

Heavily armed militants dressed in uniforms stormed the airbase during the early hours of Thursday, sparking an intense gun battle lasting almost five hours.

Officials said that the assailants were equipped with automatic weapons, grenades and suicide vests. Intense exchange of fire between militants and security forces ensued after the attackers infiltrated the base, located in Attock.

According to PAF spokesman, all eight attackers have been killed while one Pakistani soldier also lost his life in the attack.  However, it was not immediately cleared how the attackers managed to enter the sprawling base this time.

Although the attack took place at about 2 am, it is likely many of the soldiers on the base were awake for prayers or breakfast during the fasting month of Ramazan.

How the attackers cloaked themselves in uniforms and got inside the base will renew questions about security, particularly at a base which has been attacked twice before.

An official statement said, “Other miscreants then fired RPGs from outside the base boundary wall. As a result one PAF aircraft got damaged”.

“The attackers were wearing security force uniforms but I can’t specify of which force uniform they were wearing,” it added.

The base is home to the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex that assembles Mirage and, with Chinese support, JF-17 fighter jets. It has previously come under attack twice, once in 2007 and then in 2009.

A suicide bomber had killed eight people in an attack on a check post outside the base on October 23, 2009. In December 2007, a suicide bomber had targeted a school bus and injured at least five children of employees at the base.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility but the Pakistani Taliban have targeted a string of military bases since rising up against the government in July 2007.

In recent weeks, military intelligence had warned of the possibility of such an attack on military installations. However, there was no specific information about an attack being targeted at the Kamra base.

It may be mentioned here that Karachi Naval Base, PNS Mehran had been attacked in a similar manner on May 22, 2011. The militants had killed several Naval personnel besides destroying two P-3C Orion aircraft.

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Posted by Faisal Farooq on Aug 16 2012. Filed under Latest News, National, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.