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One of two P-3C Orion maritime aircraft destroyed by the Taliban during the assault on Pakistani Naval Station Mehran. Associated Press photo. |
The Pakistani Taliban attacked a naval airbase in the city of Karachi on Sunday, sparking an hours-long battle in which several people were killed and at least two naval aircraft were destroyed. As of Monday, Pakistani officials have declared the siege is over and its forces are “mopping up.”
A large terrorist assault team, thought to be between 15 to 20 men strong, stormed Pakistani Naval Station Mehran Sunday night in a coordinated, complex attack. A Taliban spokesman claimed that 22 fighters who have enough provisions for three days have executed the assault. But Pakistani officials claimed just five or six fighters launched the attack, and two are thought to have escaped.
The heavily armed gunmen penetrated security at the base from three gates and fanned out, attacking aircraft hangars and military personnel. At least two Pakistani naval aircraft, both P-3C Orion maritime surveillance planes, have been destroyed, and another was damaged. The Taliban also detonated a fuel storage tank.
Ten Pakistani naval personnel and four terrorists have been reported killed during the fighting. The terrorists were said to have taken hostages, including several Chinese military personnel, and have seized control of one or more buildings on the base. Pakistani officials, including Rehman Malik, later denied any hostages, including foreigners, were taken.
Pakistani naval commandos, Marines, and Rangers were deployed to battle the Taliban assault team.
The Pakistani Taliban has claimed credit for the attack. The Taliban and allied terror groups such at the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, which has a significant presence in Karachi, have launched similar attacks in the past.
“We claim responsibility for this attack in Karachi,” Ihsanullah Ihsan, a Taliban spokesman said. “We had already warned after Osama’s (bin Laden) martyrdom that we will carry out even bigger attacks.”
Today’s assault on the Karachi naval base is very similar to the Oct. 10, 2009 attack on the Army General Headquarters in Rawalpindi, in which terrorists penetrated the heavily guarded installation and held several senior and junior officers hostage.
The Taliban have targeted Pakistani Navy personnel in Karachi in the recent past. Nine people were killed in three separate bombings that targeted naval personnel on buses in the city on April 26 and April 27.
Al Qaeda has teamed up with the Taliban to execute attacks in Karachi. In November, 2010, both groups attacked the Crime Investigation Department headquarters in a highly secured area of the city. During the assault, 17 people were killed, including two CID officers and five paramilitary soldiers guarding the building.
Multiple Taliban groups, as well as al Qaeda, have vowed to take revenge for the death of Osama bin Laden, who was killed by US SEALs and CIA operatives on May 2 in the Pakistani city of Abbottabad. But terrorist groups have been attacking Pakistani security forces for years.
Pakistan’s military has been under fire from the public since the May 2 assault, as officials have admitted they were unaware of the mission to kill bin Laden. The operation took place just north of Islamabad, and was far from Pakistan’s tribal areas, where bin Laden was presumed to have been hiding. Bin Laden was living in Abbottabad for more than six years and actively communicating with al Qaeda and Taliban leaders as he lived next door to Pakistan’s premier military academy.
Sources:
- Pakistan: Militants attack Karachi naval air base, BBC
- Brazen attack: Terrorists storm Pakistan Navy base, The Express Tribune
- Pakistani naval base under attack, Al Jazeera
- 4 navy staff martyred, 9 injured in PNS Mehran attack, The News
- TTP claims responsibility for PNS Mehran attack, Geo News
- Pakistan: Militants attack Karachi naval air base, BBC
- 10 Pakistani troops killed in gun battle at naval base, BBC
