IAF says operation to secure Pathankot air base continues

Pathankot/New Delhi : The operation continues to secure the Indian Air Force base at Pathankot after a militant attack on Saturday, the IAF said on Sunday, while the government said it could not yet confirm that two remaining gunmen had been eliminated.
“The area cannot be declared fully sanitised,” Air Marshal Anil Khosla told a news briefing in New Delhi.
Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi told reporters in New Delhi that four gunmen had been confirmed killed and he hoped the two still at large would be “neutralised” by evening. Without recovering their bodies they could not be confirmed dead. Earlier, a senior Army official said, “A fresh contact has been established and there was brief firing,” Additional reinforcements have been sent to the area of operation.
Five companies comprising nearly 500 personnel have been deployed by the Army in the operation.
“There is a possibility of two more terrorists being holed up at the Air Force base station,” Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh, DIG Border Range, Punjab Police, said.
Earlier this morning, a fresh grenade blast ripped through the air force base, claiming the life of an NSG commando, as three other security men succumbed to injuries in a hospital after yesterday’s terror attack taking the toll of Indian security personnel to seven.
Lt Col Niranjan, a member of the NSG’s Bomb Disposal Squad, was killed while he was defusing the grenade at the scene of the terror attack as part of the combing operations that continued through the night. Four other security men were also injured in the blast.
Defence sources said Niranjan, a resident of Kerala, was killed while trying to retrieve the grenade from the body of a dead terrorist.
Three members of the Defence Security Corps (DSC) succumbed to injuries in the hospital here during the night, taking the death toll of security men killed in the attack to seven.Home Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted: “Pained to know about the demise of Lt Col Niranjan of NSG during mopping up operations in Pathankot. The nation salutes his sacrifice.”Five attackers, a Garud commando and three DSC were killed yesterday when heavily-armed Pakistani terrorists had attempted to storm the base, triggering a day-long gunbattle at the airbase, barely 35 km from the Indo-Pak border.
Among those battling for their lives in the hospital are 8 DSC personnel and a Garud commando.
The joint combing operation is still underway, a police official said, adding that the NIA has taken over the probe into the terror incident. Some senior officials of the Punjab Police led by DGP Suresh Arora are also present here.
Entire area has been cordoned off and top officers of several agencies are camping on the station premises to oversee the operation, which is jointly being conducted by several security wings, including the NIA, NSG and Garud.
IAF helicopters were also seen flying over the base and nearby areas to assist ground forces in the operations.
Terrorists failed to destroy IAF assets: Home Secy
Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi said the terrorists who attacked the Pathankot air base failed to destroy the IAF assets due to timely action by security forces.
“Because of early action, the terrorists were unable to move to their likely intended aim but were contained in an area of heavy growth of trees and shrubs and surrounded,” he told the media here.
He added that the security forces had sounded an alert in the area, including the Indian Air Force base near Pathankot, ahead of the pre-dawn attack on Saturday.
All vital installations and government offices were informed about a likely terror attack and efforts were mounted to track down the terrorists who had earlier killed a taxi driver, he said.“Due to the active intelligence inputs and quick action taken by security forces, especially the IAF, we were able to ensure there was no damage to the assets of the air force. Therefore, the main apparent aim of the terrorists stands defeated,” the Home Secretary said.