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Pakistan naval base attacked
23 May 2011 04:01 am - 15 - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
(Reuters) - An overnight battle with militants at Pakistan's naval aviation base erupted again after dawn on Monday, with blasts ringing out and choppers hovering overhead as security forces launched a counter-offensive."The operation still continues. It is not over yet," said one security official, eight hours after a group of up to 15 militants stormed the installation with guns and grenades, killing at least five people and blowing up a military aircraft.
More than 30 troops entered the PNS Mehran base in the southern city of Karachi as the battle resumed and eight blasts were heard in the space of 30 minutes.
Eleven people were wounded in the attack on one of the country's most heavily guarded military installations, where jet fuel tanks appeared to have caught fire and exploded.
"They were carrying guns, rocket-propelled grenades (RPG) and hand grenades. They hit the aircraft with an RPG," Navy spokesman Commander Salman Ali said earlier.
It was not immediately clear who was behind the raid. But Taliban militants, who have vowed to avenge the killing of Osama bin Laden by U.S. special forces, have carried out several attacks since the al Qaeda leaders' death on May 2.
The assault started at approximately 10:30 p.m. on Sunday.
The dead included one sailor, three firefighters and an Army ranger, Yasir said.
The Karachi attack evoked memories of an assault on Pakistan's army headquarters in the town of Rawalpindi in 2009, and revived concerns that even the most well-guarded installations in the country remain vulnerable to militants.
A spokesman said one P-3C Orion, a maritime patrol aircraft, had been destroyed and that intermittent gunfire was continuing.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik said earlier 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."
Media reports said the attackers had made their way in through a sewer line, but that was not confirmed. The military's goal is to capture as many of the attackers alive as possible, Pakistan television reported.
Pakistani military and paramilitary reinforcements poured in after the attack began, with four vehicles carrying about 10 troops each moving into the base.
Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani condemned the attack.
"Such a cowardly act of terror could not deter the commitment of the government and people of Pakistan to fight terrorism," Gilani said in statement.
WAVE OF BOMBINGS
Pakistan has faced a wave of bombings and gun assaults over the last few years, some of them claimed by the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), or Pakistani Taliban.
Others have been blamed on al Qaeda-linked militant groups once nurtured by the Pakistani military which have since slipped out of control.
The discovery that bin Laden was living in the garrison town of Abbottabad, not far from the Pakistan Military Academy, has revived suspicions that militants may be receiving help from some people within the security establishment.
Pakistan and the United States say the senior leadership in the country did not know bin Laden was in Abbottabad.
Washington sees nuclear-armed Pakistan as a key, if troubled, ally in the region essential to its attempts to root out militant forces in neighboring Afghanistan.
"We condemn the attack and our sympathies are with the families of those injured or killed," the White House in Washington said in a statement.
On April 28, suspected militants detonated a roadside bomb in Karachi, killing four members of the navy, the third attack on the navy in a week.
The attack came two days after two bombs hit buses carrying navy personnel, killing four people and wounding 56. Taliban insurgents took responsibility for the twin attacks.
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Comments - 15
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Roshan Monday, 23 May 2011 04:39 AM
So called Militants are backed by US, their next target is to attack and destroy Pakistan Nuclear Station under the name of Al-Qaeda.
SAW Monday, 23 May 2011 04:24 AM
This is exactly what US deserved. Staging "Osama killing" drama inside Pakistan and to promote internal clash. I doubt whether the so called 'militants' we also US instruments.
Prof Wickramatillake Monday, 23 May 2011 04:56 AM
Muslims killing Muslims?
Mifaz Monday, 23 May 2011 05:01 AM
Responses for the breach
Fayad Monday, 23 May 2011 05:46 AM
US is messing up almost all the eastern countries
lankaman Monday, 23 May 2011 06:03 AM
absolutely spot on bro
simple mind Monday, 23 May 2011 06:47 AM
This is what happens when you allow viruses to grow in your back yard. The same thing happened to India with the LTTE. Now Pakistan is facing the same situ with the alquida.
DUWI Monday, 23 May 2011 06:32 AM
They have copied the LTTE
Hassan Monday, 23 May 2011 07:07 AM
Real muslim never kill another muslim or a human.
mike Monday, 23 May 2011 07:22 AM
if they want taliban stopped they must request MR to send srilankan troops. this is kids stuff for our big boys!!
Doha Boy Monday, 23 May 2011 07:31 AM
If you sleep with dogs, you will wake up with flea
Saradial Monday, 23 May 2011 07:58 AM
Exactly
Black Mamba Monday, 23 May 2011 08:18 AM
This is what happens when you court the devil!!!
Fayad Monday, 23 May 2011 09:26 AM
nice to see pro US support in sri lanka
lankaman Monday, 23 May 2011 10:01 AM
Be careful, Americans may send u to Guantanamo for calling them dogs
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