Pakistani military says nine attackers killed after assault on airbase

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani security forces on Saturday killed nine militants who stormed a training airbase in the eastern Pakistani district of Mianwali, said the military, adding “no damage” had been done to any functional operational assets at the airfield.
The training base of the Pakistan Air Force came under attack in the wee hours of Saturday, according to the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing.
It said a timely response resulted in the killing of three attackers while entering the base, whereas six others were killed in a combing and clearance operation.
“The successful operation was launched by security forces to eliminate any potential threat in the surrounding area, following the cowardly and failed terrorist attack on the base this morning,” the ISPR said.
“No damage has been done to any of the PAF’s functional operational assets, while only some damage was done to three already phased out non-operational aircraft during the attack.”
The assault came a day after three separate attacks killed 21 people, including 15 security personnel, in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan provinces that border Afghanistan.
The South Asian country has been witnessing an uptick in militant attacks, particularly after the Pakistan Taliban called off their fragile truce with the government in November 2022, with a majority of these incidents targeting the two provinces along the Afghan border.
Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar condemned the attack in a social media post.
“The valiant Pakistan Air Force has once again proven its mettle by thwarting a cowardly terrorist attack in Mianwali,” he said. “Any attempt to undermine our security will meet with unwavering resistance.”
“The nation stands with you [the security forces] and we salute your courage and resolve,” he added.

Pakistani officials have repeatedly asserted that militants targeting their country operate from the neighboring Afghanistan, urging the Taliban government in Kabul to prevent their territory from being used as a staging ground for such attacks.
Pakistan last month asked all illegal immigrants, mostly Afghan nationals, to leave the country by November 1, saying they were involved in attacks, smuggling and other offenses.
The expulsion order followed suicide bombings in Pakistan this year that the government said involved Afghan nationals, though it did not provide any evidence.
The South Asian country has since set up tens of holding centers to speed up the repatriation process as authorities continue to arrest illegal immigrants in nationwide sweeps.