KAMRA, Pakistan (Reuters) – Islamist militants armed with rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons fought their way into one of Pakistan’s largest air bases yesterday, the air force said, in a brazen challenge to the nuclear-armed country’s powerful military.
The attack was repelled and only one aircraft was damaged, said an air force spokesman, adding that the Minhas air base at Kamra, in central Punjab province, did not house nuclear weapons.
“No air base is a nuclear air base in Pakistan,” he said.
The gun battle raged for hours, and eight militants and one soldier were killed, the spokesman said. Commandos were called in to reinforce base security forces and police armoured personnel carriers could be seen heading into the base.
Pakistan’s Taliban movement, which is close to al Qaeda and seen as the biggest security threat to the South Asian nation, claimed responsibility for the assault.
