Attack Near Karachi Airport, All Flights Suspended
ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani spokesman says militants have attacked a security training facility at the Karachi airport and that a firefight is underway with the attackers. The attack comes after an all-night siege at the airport by the Taliban left 37 dead.
Heavy firing was reported at the Airport Security Force (ASF) camp number 2, situated near the Jinnah International Airport, Dawn News reported.Ghulam Abbas Memon, a spokesman for the ASF, said gunmen tried to enter the facility from two different entrances but the security forces were fighting them back.
Memon says he doesn’t have any details on the number of attackers or possible casualties. However, Pakistani television channels are reporting about four to five gunmen are involved in the attack.
TV footage showed paramilitary vehicles and ambulances racing to the scene of the attack. Sounds of explosions were also heard.”We have suspended all flight operations at Karachi airport and we are evacuating passengers,” Mashud Tajwar, a spokesman for Pakistan International Airlines, told AFP.
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has claimed responsibility for today’s attack.The site of the attack is located at the entrance of an ASF camp some 500 metres away from the main airport premises.The assault came as Pakistan launched air strikes on a militant-infested tribal district, killing 15 people in apparent retaliation for the Monday assault.
