10 terrorists among 23 killed as Karachi airport siege ends

At least 23 persons, including 10 terrorists have been killed when heavily armed militants attacked the JinnahInternationalAirport's old terminal in Pakistan's financial capital Karachi.

The terrorists were corned and killed after they attacked the old airport terminal building late last night, posing as Airport Security Force personnel.

"All 10 terrorists have been killed, the airport secured and they were unable to damage any aircraft or installations," a spokesman of the Inter Services Pubic Relations said.

He said that army units from the nearby Malir cantonment base, ASF commandos, paramilitary rangers and police hadcarried out the joint operation to clear the old airport area.

Sophisticated machine guns and rocket launchers were recovered from the terrorists who were being identified, the spokesman said. 

For nearly six hours the Jinnah international airport which is close to the old airport terminal was shut down and all flights diverted as exchange of gunfire took place and heavy plumes of smoke and fire could be seen rising from inside the runaway area where the terrorists took cover in the hangar and engineering workshops.

During the ordeal several loud explosions were also heard but the spokesman confirmed that no aircraft was damaged nor any important assets or installations damaged during the operation.

Till the filing of this report no one had claimed responsibility for the attack.

Sagheer Ahmed, the Sindh minister for health, told reporters that 13 people lost their lives in the terrorist attack.

"Those martyred include the ASF personnel, civilian engineers and personnel of CAA and PIA and a police officer while a dozen have also been injured and are admitted to hospital," he said.

Defence Minister Khawaja Asif described the attack as cowardly and said it was another example of how terrorists were trying to destroy important installations and locations of the government.

"But I can tell you these terrorists will not succeed in their aims and will be defeated," Asif said.

The attack was reminiscent of the deadly attack carried out by some 15 militants of the Tehreek-e-Taliban in May 2011 on the Mehran naval airbase here in which the attackers killed some 18 personnel and damaged aircrafts before being killed in a counter attack.

The attack came days after a peace process between the Tehreek-e-Taliban broke down and a ceasefire announced by the TTP was called off.

Since then than there has also been a major break in the TTP with the powerful Mehsud group announcing their separation from the militant outfit led by Maulana Fazlullah.

The Mehsud group commanders had warned of resuming attacks against the government and security personnel and installations.

Immediately after the daring attack all flight operations were suspended from the Jinnah international airport with flights not taking off and those scheduled to land in Karachi were diverted to Nawabshah and Quetta or turned back to their original destinations.

Police sources said that the heavily armed terrorists dressed in ASF uniforms forced their way into the old terminal building from two gates and caught the security personnel on duty unaware.

Security forces including Military troops, ASF and police commandos surrounded a hangar and workshop near the old terminal where the terrorists took control after entering the runaway from the old terminal building.

Image: A paramilitary soldier stands in position outside Jinnah International Airport in Karachi. Photograph: Athar Hussain/Reuters