Militants stormed Pakistan Navy’s main bases late on Sunday, triggering explosions and gun battles in the country’s largest city, private TV channels reported.
At least 10 people were wounded as towering flames rose over naval air base PNS Mehran in the centre of Karachi, where the military and government confirmed that the base was under terrorist attack. An AFP reporter saw scores of soldiers and navy commando reinforcements entering the base as smoke rose into the night sky.
An AFP photographer heard seven blasts and periodic bursts of gunfire. There was no claim of responsibility but the military has long been on the frontline of attacks blamed on the Taliban and other Al Qaeda-linked militant groups that have killed more than 4,350 people in four years.
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani condemned Sunday’s attack, and ordered Interior Minister Rehman Malik to Karachi to coordinate the security efforts being taken by the civil and military officials, his office said in a statement. Commander Salman Ali, spokesman for the Pakistan Navy, said that troops were fighting the gunmen.
Sindh Home Ministry official Sharfuddin Memon said that more than 10 terrorists” were inside the base and at least 10 people had been wounded, but could provide no further details. In October 2009, Taliban militants beseiged the army headquarters in Rawalpindi for two days, killing 22 people and raising serious questions over why it took the military so long to put down the assault.
Navy base attacked in Karachi
