33 dead in Taliban attack on Pak air force base

Peshawar, September 18 : At least 33 persons, including 13 militants, were killed today when heavily armed Taliban terrorists in military uniforms launched a daring attack on a Pakistan Air Force base and a mosque inside it in this restive city, in one of the deadliest assaults on a defence facility.A group of gunmen wearing explosives-laden jackets and armed with hand-propelled grenades, mortars, AK-47 rifles attacked a guard post as they tried to fight their way into the Badaber air base 6 km outside Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.An army captain was among 20 persons killed in the attack on the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) base and a mosque inside it, officials said.Two junior PAF technicians were also killed in the attack, a PAF spokesperson said, adding that both airmen were deployed at the guardroom when the attack occurred. All 13 terrorists were killed by security forces, military spokesman Major General Asim Bajwa tweeted.Several of those killed were offering prayers at the mosque, Bajwa said, adding that the terrorists were dressed in constabulary uniforms.Terrorists entered the base at two points, splitting into sub-groups, sparking a fierce gunbattle with security forces, he said.At least 22 persons, including eight soldiers and two senior army officers, were injured in the attack.The injured have been shifted to a military hospital in Peshawar and two have been taken to Lady Reading Hospital (LRH). An emergency has been declared in both hospitals.The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the attack.“Our suicidal unit carried out the attack,” TTP spokesman Muhammad Khurasani said in an email statement.Khurasani claimed that 80 security personnel were surrounded by the militants and 50 of them killed but it was not confirmed. He also claimed that women and children were given safe exit which was also not confirmed.