Taliban claims responsibility for airport attack

The Pakistani Taliban says it was behind the five-hour assault on the international airport in Karachi that killed 18 people.

The Pakistani Taliban says it was behind

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Gunmen disguised as police guards stormed the international terminal in Karachi, set off explosions and killed 18 people.

The Taliban said the assault on the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, the capital of southern Sindh province, was in revenge for the killing last November of the militant group’s leader in a US drone strike.

The claim further diminished prospects for a resumption of government-led peace talks with the Taliban. Those talks floundered in recent weeks and the Taliban have called off a ceasefire they declared during negotiations. Since then, Pakistani troops have carried out airstrikes in the country’s troubled north west to target militant hideouts, killing dozens of suspected militants. Residents claim several civilians were also killed in the strikes.

[comment] Pakistani police commandos help an injured colleague. Picture: AP [/comment]

The Karachi assault started late yesterday when 10 gunmen, at least some disguised as policemen, opened fire with machine-guns and rocket launchers, triggering a gun battle with police during which all the attackers were killed, said Rizwan Akhtar, the chief of Pakistan’s elite paramilitary rangers.

Heavy gunfire and multiple explosions were heard coming from the terminal, used for VIP flights and cargo, as militants and security forces battled for control. A major fire rose from the airport, illuminating the night sky in an orange glow as the silhouettes of jets could be seen. As dawn broke, smoke could still be seen billowing in the air.

Authorities diverted incoming flights and suspended all flight operations.

Just before dawn, Pakistani security forces regained full control of the airport. The Civil Aviation Authority said security forces had given them back control of the airport.

Dr Seemi Jamali, from Karachi’s Jinnah Hospital, said 18 bodies were brought to the morgue, and 11 of them were of airport security personnel. The bodies of the attackers remained in police custody.

At least some of the gunmen wore the uniform of the Airport Security Force, said an official at the scene near the terminal. All the attackers wore explosives vests, some of which were detonated when they were shot at by the police, the official said.

After storming into the airport grounds, gunmen hunkered down for the shootout with police in two sections of the airport, said senior police officer Ghulam Qadir Thebo. Local news channels reported that intermittent gunfire could still be heard this morning, though it was not clear what the source of that shooting was.

Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said the attack was to avenge the killing of Hakimullah Mehsud, the Taliban chief who died in a drone strike last November.

Shahid, who speaks for Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan as the Pakistani Taliban are known, said the attack on the Karachi airport had been planned out before the peace talks started and was put on hold during the negotiations.

He also warned of more attacks to come.