Terrorists attack naval facility in Karachi

Anita Joshua

Multiple explosions heard; aircraft damaged; 4 reported killed

— PHOTO: AFP

Flames and smoke erupt from a Pakistan military air base in Karachi after an attack by militants on Sunday night.

ISLAMABAD: Terrorists struck at the naval facility, PNS Mehran, in Karachi late on Sunday night.

Multiple explosions were heard from inside the facility which is next to the Air Force's Faisal Base and some aircraft were damaged in the fire that engulfed the area. Gunfire was also reported from the area, suggesting that the terrorists engaged security personnel in an exchange of fire.

Initial reports suggested that a dozen terrorists had entered the facility and set off the first explosion. However, with the area being a restricted one, no media was allowed in and the first confirmation of this being a terrorist strike came from Interior Minister Rehman Malik.

Four persons are said to have been killed in the attack. This is the third time that the Pakistan Navy has come under attack over the past month, the earlier two being on buses ferrying Naval personnel to work.

PTI reports from Karachi:

The terrorists targeted PNS Mehran, where some Chinese engineers were engaged in work, at about 10.40 p.m., sources said. Geo Television reported that five people, including a foreigner, were taken to hospital.

Mr. Malik said the terrorists were still within the airbase and naval commandos and paramilitary Pakistan Rangers were deployed to counter them. “Terrorists have attacked the Pakistan Naval Mehran base and the terrorists are still in the base and have been engaged by our forces,” he told the media. “We have dispatched Naval commandos and paramilitary rangers to the base to tackle the situation.”

He said according to initial reports at least four explosions had taken place. Dawn News channel quoted witnesses as saying that they heard up to five blasts. Heavy firing continued over 20 minutes after the first blast.

Security and law enforcement agencies have surrounded the area,” Sharfuddin Memon, advisor to the Sindh Interior Minister said.

The high-security area houses the PA's Southern Air Command, Air War College and museum as well as PNS Mehran, the main naval air station in Karachi.

/www.hindu.com

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