“All nine terrorists have been sent to hell,” the military said in a statement, adding that the operation had been completed.
Earlier, the military announced that three men were killed before they stormed the base, while the other three attackers were “captured/isolated”.
In a press release, Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan (TJP), a newly formed militant group linked to the local Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) movement, claimed responsibility for the attack.
Gunmen stormed the base early Saturday morning in the town of Mianwali in central Punjab, on the border with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
“The security forces conducted a successful operation, eliminating any threats in the surrounding area,” the army announced.
The attack damaged three decommissioned aircraft, which are being phased out, the statement said, without giving further details.
Analysts say militant groups have been emboldened by the return of the Taliban to power in neighboring Afghanistan in 2021.
Pakistan regularly accuses its neighbors of harboring militants who plan and launch attacks from inside Afghanistan, a charge the Taliban government denies.
However, attacks in Punjab province are rare.
The TTP movement adheres to a strict Islamist ideology like their allies in Afghanistan. They mostly target security forces, but sometimes civilians are also affected by outbreaks of violence.
In the latest attack, 14 soldiers were killed on Friday when their convoy was attacked in Balochistan province. Also on Friday, six civilians were killed in an attack on a police vehicle in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
Balochistan has been waging a decades-long insurgency by ethnic Baluchi guerrillas against the government, accusing it of exploiting the province’s abundant gas and mineral resources.
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2024-10-05 23:58:22
