India says search for attackers at air base still not over

4 pm: Security agencies told PTI that the terrorists who attacked the Pathankot Air Force base may have entered the premises before an alert was sounded.

PATHANKOT, India (AP) – An Indian military official says a fifth gunman has been killed in a more than two-day long siege at an air base near the border with Pakistan.

Thousands of police were scanning hotels, markets and forested areas in the city of Pathankot around the base, to ensure no more militants were hiding, said police official Manoj Kumar.

The responses to Saturday’s attack from both countries have been muted so far, with neither New Delhi nor Islamabad giving any indication that the planned talks are under any threat.

“The operation will ontinue until the airbase is cleared of intruders” Air Officer Commander told reporters in Pathankot confirming that seven security personnel had been killed in the initial attack.

The attackers were met with stiff resistance from the security personnel who were anticipating an attack, top sources said in Delhi, adding that the terrorists, hence, could not enter the air base.

The attack – a rare targeting of an Indian military installation outside disputed Kashmir – may have been meant to undermine improving relations with Pakistan after a landmark visit to the country by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month.

India blamed the ISI for launching the parliament attack and deployed its army to its borders with Pakistan, bringing the nuclear-armed neighbours to the brink of war.

Police have said the gunmen had earlier hijacked a police officer’s vehicle and driven it to the base. Helicopters, NSG commandos and SWAT teams were engaged to kill the militants, police said.

The defence ministry said no aircraft or military equipment had been damaged in the fighting.

The Himalayan region of Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan and claimed in its entirety by both.

Reports now suggest that the attack may affect talks scheduled this month between India and Pakistan foreign secretaries.

“In line with Pakistan’s commitment to effectively counter and eradicate terrorism, the government is in touch with the Indian government and is working on the leads provided by it”, a statement issued by the Foreign Affairs Ministry in Islamabad said.

“As the government is said to be considering various options regarding the foreign secretary-level talks in wake of what is widely believed to be an attack by Pakistan based Jaish-e-Mohammad terror group, Finance Minister parried a question on whether the talks will go on”.

The two visits were preceded by a meeting between Modi and his Pakistan counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, in Paris on 30 November on the sidelines of the United Nations climate change summit in Paris.

The reaction in India has also been quiet so far.