Operation to secure Indian air base continues: air force

Indian troops killed four gunmen who had entered an Indian air force base near the border with Pakistan and exchanged fire with security forces on Saturday, officials and news reports said. The news agency, citing police, also said at least four gunmen had been killed. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), however, did not give details of this meeting.

Loud explosions were also heard at the heavily guarded air base this morning, but it was unclear if the blasts were controlled explosions or gunfire.

Outside the base, rumours had circulated all morning that more gunmen were still active after Home Minister Rajnath Singh had announced on Saturday that five terrorists had been “neutralised”.

As Indian security forces battled the remaining attackers, Lt Col Niranjan Kumar of the NSG was killed when a grenade exploded beside him.

It came just about a week after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a surprise visit to Pakistan, the first by an Indian premier in 11 years.

Indian security forces were engaged in a firefight this evening with armed gunmen at an airforce base in northern Punjab state, adjoining the Pakistani border, more than 36 hours after the complex came under attack.

The firefight with the gunmen, suspected of belonging to the Pakistani Jaish-e-Mohammad (Army of Mohammad) Islamist group, lasted some 20 hours on the strategically located airforce base, which houses fighter aircraft and attack helicopters.

“The casualties were unacceptably high”, said Nitin Gokhale, a defense analyst and journalist who said that intelligence on a possible attack had not been passed on in time to alert sentries at the base.

Reports said police and Indian border guards have cordoned off area around the Pathankot airbase and roads leading to the base have been sealed.

Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Jammu & Kashmir and other states were put on maximum alert in the wake of the attack.

On Sunday, the Centre also discussed a strategy on Pakistan with former foreign secretaries and ex-envoys to Pakistan.

Ahead of Modi’s December 25 visit to Pakistan, the national security advisers of both countries had met in Thailand. “In response, preparatory actions had been taken by the Indian Air Force (IAF) to thwart any such attempt”, a statement from the Indian Air Force said yesterday evening.

Police were investigating whether the militants came from the Indian portion of Kashmir or from Pakistan.

The State Department said it was committed to strong partnership with India in combating terrorism and urged all counties in the region to “disrupt and dismantle terrorist network” and bring perpetrators of the latest attack to justice.

“Whoever is finally identified, it will be the same Pakistan-based terror formations and these have long experience of attacking military and police establishments”, said Ajay Sahni, the head of the Institute for Conflict Management in New Delhi.

“India will continue to engage with Pakistan despite Pathankot terror attack”.

Pakistan condemned the attack, describing it as a “terrorist incident”. Meanwhile, Pakistan has said the foreign secretaries of the two countries will meet on January 15 to draw up a roadmap for the next six months.