Gunfight at Pakistani airport after Sunday attack
Gunfight at Pakistani airport after Sunday attack
June 9, 2014
Gunfight
has reportedly resumed at Pakistan’s biggest airport after an attack by
gunmen that left at least 23 people dead on Sunday night.
The attack took place at a terminal used for cargo and VIP flights at Karachi’s international airport. Many of those killed were airport staff.
Fresh violence broke out hours after the army said it had retaken control and all 10 attackers had been killed.
Pakistan’s Taliban said they had carried out the assault.
Shahidullah Shahid, a Taliban spokesman, was quoted as saying by Reuters on Monday: “It is a message to the Pakistan government that we are still alive to react over the killings of innocent people in bomb attacks on their villages.”
The dead terminal staff were said to be mostly security guards from the Airport Security Force (ASF) but also airline workers. At least 14 people were wounded.
All flights are being diverted to other airports.
Analysts say the attack further undermines Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s attempt at initiating peace talks with the Taliban.
The negotiations have made little headway since February. Critics have argued that they could allow the militants to regroup and gain strength.
I was with police at the Fokker Gate where some of the militants initially entered – and a few hundred metres from the fighting. We spent five to six hours at the airport while the militants were battling.
Witnesses told us the militants came in a high-roofed van, which dropped them at the entrance to this terminal and then quickly left.
We were told several militants jumped into the buildings and shortly afterwards a very heavy deployment of the Pakistani army arrived and firing began.
We took cover while loud bomb blasts could be heard. Officials told us it was suicide bombers detonating their vests. Later they discovered live suicide jackets from militants shot dead in the encounter.
Their intention may well have been for a longer and deadlier siege as one official told me that the militants had brought dry food supplies with them.
The attack took place at a terminal used for cargo and VIP flights at Karachi’s international airport. Many of those killed were airport staff.
Fresh violence broke out hours after the army said it had retaken control and all 10 attackers had been killed.
Pakistan’s Taliban said they had carried out the assault.
Shahidullah Shahid, a Taliban spokesman, was quoted as saying by Reuters on Monday: “It is a message to the Pakistan government that we are still alive to react over the killings of innocent people in bomb attacks on their villages.”
The dead terminal staff were said to be mostly security guards from the Airport Security Force (ASF) but also airline workers. At least 14 people were wounded.
All flights are being diverted to other airports.
Analysts say the attack further undermines Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s attempt at initiating peace talks with the Taliban.
The negotiations have made little headway since February. Critics have argued that they could allow the militants to regroup and gain strength.
I was with police at the Fokker Gate where some of the militants initially entered – and a few hundred metres from the fighting. We spent five to six hours at the airport while the militants were battling.
Witnesses told us the militants came in a high-roofed van, which dropped them at the entrance to this terminal and then quickly left.
We were told several militants jumped into the buildings and shortly afterwards a very heavy deployment of the Pakistani army arrived and firing began.
We took cover while loud bomb blasts could be heard. Officials told us it was suicide bombers detonating their vests. Later they discovered live suicide jackets from militants shot dead in the encounter.
Their intention may well have been for a longer and deadlier siege as one official told me that the militants had brought dry food supplies with them.
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