Terrorists storm naval air base

At least four Pakistan Navy personnel were killed and five others injured in a massive terrorist assault on Pakistan Naval Station (PNS) Mehran, a naval aviation base, in Karachi late on Sunday. Several powerful explosions rocked the naval base and heavy firing was also reported in the biggest ever attack on a Pakistani military installation to date. Six of the militants were killed by security forces in a counter assault, sources said, adding that four injured terrorists were also taken into custody.
According to sources and eyewitnesses, seven blasts were heard intermittently in PNS Mehran on Shahrah-e-Faisal and huge clouds of smoke billowed from the naval compound. Sources said at least six people were killed in the attack, including four Navy officers. The wounded were rushed to various hospitals. Heavy contingents of Pakistan Army, naval commandos, marines, Pakistan Rangers and Karachi police sealed off areas around the PNS Mehran and began an intensive search operation while Pakistan Army’s Special Services Group commandoes were summoned to flush out the invaders.According to intelligence sources, at least 15 militants strapped with suicide vests had entered PNS Mehran and blown up the Pakistan Navy guard room and ordnance depot following which heavy exchange of fire was reported.
The militants infiltrated the base from three different sides – Shahrah-e-Faisal, Gulistan-e-Johar and PAF Museum – and used more than a dozen grenades in the attack. Sources said terrorists also fired rockets at the hangar of the PC-3 Orion aircraft in PNS Mehran, where several engineers, some of them reportedly American, were working. The US Embassy said it could not confirm whether American nationals were present at the base. “Three hangers were hit. There is some damage to aircraft or helicopters,” an intelligence official told Reuters. TV channels reported that two of the planes were destroyed in the attack and several of the engineers were killed and injured.
The aircraft, normally used for surveillance and reconnaissance, was recently procured from the United States and was being assembled in PNS Mehran. According to TV reports, the terrorists were holed-up inside a building in the PNS Mehran and had taken several staff members, including foreigners, hostage. A commando operation was underway to clear the building and rescue the hostages, reports said. Sources said Pakistan Navy’s Atlantic and Fokker planes and aircraft of the Navy’s Maritimes Security were also parked at the base. The intensity of the blasts was such that they were heard in a 2-kilometre radius. A state of emergency was declared in hospitals in the city following the attack.
Sources said there were offices of intelligence agencies near the site of the attack. The fire brigade and ambulances rushed to the scene as rescue teams started their activities amid crowds of onlookers. A police official who asked not to be named said the Karachi police chief, deputy inspector general and other top police officials reached the scene but were not permitted to enter the PNS Mehran.
Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani, meanwhile, talked to Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Chairman General Khalid Shamim Wynne and asked him to ensure coordinated action against the terrorists. He also contacted the chiefs of all three arms of the military and asked them to jointly move against the terrorists who had hit the base.
The PM also ordered Interior Minister Rehman Malik to immediately reach Karachi and coordinate the security efforts being taken by the civil and military officials. Commando action against the militants was still underway when this report was sent to the press at 3.30am on Monday (today).