Ten terrorists attacked Karachi airport: DG Rangers

KARACHI: Director General of the Paramilitary Rangers, Rizwan Akhtar said ten terrorists had stormed the Jinnah International Airport, Karachi on Sunday night, Geo News reported on Monday.

Talking to media men at the Karachi airport, DG Rangers Rizwan Akhtar said the operation started at 11:30 pm on Sunday night and continued till 4:00 am on Sunday.



"Seven terrorists were killed by the security forces while three blew themselves up," Rizwan Akhtar told the reporters.

Furthermore, eight personnel of Airport Security Force (ASF) sustained injuries during the late night operation to secure terminal one of the
Karachi airport. One Rangers man was martyred while four others were injured. Fortunately, no plane was damaged in the attack.

He also said that DNA tests of the militants will be carried out for their identification and to ascertain if they were foreigners as they appeared to be Uzbek from appearance.

DG Rangers further said that an investigation is currently underway to confirm if the weapons recovered from the terrorists were Indian or not.

It is pertinent to mention that heavily armed militants launched an assault on Pakistan´s busiest airport in Karachi, leaving at least 30 dead including 10 militants in a six-hour siege that the army quelled at dawn on Monday.

Explosions and gunfire rang out as the attackers, equipped with suicide vests, grenades and rocket launchers, battled security forces in one of the most brazen attacks in years in Pakistan´s biggest city.

Authorities said all 10 militants were killed and that the bodies of 18 victims, including security personnel and four airport workers, had been identified at the Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (JPMC).

Meanwhile, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) has accepted the responsibility of the attack.

Gunshots were heard once again around 8:15 am after which security men took their positions and re-launched the search operation.