Taliban carried out a major terrorist attack targeting Pakistan Naval airbase in Karachi killing at least 14 and wounded another 20, the second attack since the Osama’s death targeting military or paramilitary forces of the country.
Pakistan military’s most well-guarded installation in Karachi came under a brazen attack last night when 20-25 terrorists stormed three hangars at the Mehran naval aviation base.
After a gun battle of many hours, the security forces managed to regain the control of the naval airbase however, the combing off operation is still going on to clear the entire secured area from the terrorists.
On Sunday armed militants stormed into the Mehran naval airbase in Karachi killing at least 14 people and wounded 20.
According to reports two aircraft were also destroyed in the attack. The attack began after militants managed to sneak into the base from three different directions and carried out a simultaneous attack on different targets.
Following the attacks, the PAF Base Faisal and PNS Mehran were cordoned off by the Rangers and Army. Commandos from the Army and Navy, backed by Rangers, launched an operation against the terrorists.
The reports emanating from the scene confirmed that an unidentified number of terrorists, believed to be around 15, armed with rocket-launchers and hand-grenades, attacked the PNS Mehran Air Base, located on Sharah-i- Faisal, late on Sunday night, killing at least two naval officials and injuring as many besides destroying a US made maritime Patrol Orion aircraft on the premises.
The Pakistan Taliban has claimed the responsibility for the attack. In a statement, the Taliban said the attack was revenge for Osama’s killing.
The assault lasted through Sunday night and continued Monday morning. Around 13:30 on Monday, a navy spokesman said the navy appeared to have regained control of the base. The spokesman said commandos were still searching the sprawling facility. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack earlier in the day, which they said was carried out to avenge the killing of Osama bin Laden on May 2.
In similar attacks Al Qaeda carried out twin bombing attacks targeting Frontier Corps Headquarters in Shabqadar, Charsada, NWFP Pakistan on May 13, killing 85 and injured 130 people.
Both attacks, according to Al Qaeda, who took responsibility of terrorist attacks, were to avenge killing of their leader and founder of Al Qaeda Osama bin Laden in a covert operation carried out by the US Special Forces on May 2nd in Abbottabad, NWFP.
Taliban and Al Qaeda have had become a menace for Pakistan since Pakistan’s the then leadership allowed US to use its soil to settle its score with Soviet Union. As a result millions of illegal Afghanis entered the country after the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan and the UNHCR and Pakistani authorities had barely managed to register 3.2 refugees. While millions of these Afghans are still at large and creating law and order situation on the Pakistan side of Afghan border. The wrong and ill conceived foreign policy of Pakistan to allow US to fight a proxy war with the Soviet Union to settle its Vietnam score had put an end to the cold war forcing Russia to withdraw from Afghanistan.
The analysts say it was a victory for the US to defeat Russian by using Pakistani soil and in the end after two decades of fall iron curtains of cold war; Pakistan is still struggling to maintain law and order by fighting insurgency and extremism.
Once the closest ally, now from the US President Obama to Senate and Congress, Pakistan is not doing enough to fight terrorism. This terrorism is not homegrown, added analysts, but it is a direct result of siding with US and fighting Russia in Afghanistan.