Pakistan’s army forces respond to an attack by pro-Taliban militants on an air force base in the country’s northwest, killing at least eight assailants.
The fatalities were caused on the outskirts of the city of Peshawar on Friday in an exchange of fire triggered by the gunmen attack, which marked the first major one in several weeks.
“As per initial information, seven to 10 terrorists tried to break deep in the base,” but troops managed to contain them, said army spokesman Major General Asim Saleem Bajwa.
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Eight attackers had been killed so far, he said, and 10 soldiers injured. “Clearance ops still underway. Searching for hidden terrorists,” Bajwa tweeted.
Television pictures showed helicopters hovering above the base while police and ambulances gathered outside. Nearby residents said explosions and gunfire could still be heard more than three hours after the attack began.
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants have claimed responsibility for the assault.
16 worshipers killed
Meanwhile, reports suggest that the pro-Taliban militants who attacked the Pakistani air force base killed at least 16 worshipers at a mosque, the army said.
A senior military source said no further details were immediately available about those killed in the assault on the residential compound at the base near Peshawar, the gateway to the tribal regions on the Afghan border that have long been a haven for militants.
Army airstrikes in the country’s North Waziristan tribal region killed at least 15 militants earlier in the month.
Last December, a group of pro-Taliban militants stormed an army-run school in Peshawar and killed about 150 people, including 132 students.
Ever since, the military has engaged in an offensive against militant bases along the Afghan border and the government has started out measures to tackle militancy, which has led to a drop in the number of such attacks.
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