Gunmen Continue Indian Air Base Battle

Seven troops have been killed.

Fresh gunfire and a blast have been heard at an Indian air force base at Pathankot near the Pakistani border, as troops reportedly battle the remnants of a group that attacked the site. Previously, they had travelled in a taxi, the driver of which tried to resist them by crashing the vehicle and was subsequently shot dead.

Officials said they had received intelligence about a possible attack and had beefed up security at the airfield and repulsed the attackers before they reached any sensitive areas. While the operation is not over – the entire area has to be combed – the last live engagement with terrorists was on Sunday night.

“The casualties of the security personnel are very unfortunate… the aim was to neutralise them or catch them without loss of assets”. Officials have said no military hardware has been damaged in the fighting. The funerals of three martyrs were held on Monday.

“The biggest problem is the multiplicity of command and control”.

“It’s a huge embarrassment”, he said.

Four terrorists were killed by security forces on Saturday after a 15-hour gunfight.

Meanwhile, briefing the media in the evening, Maj Gen Singh said in Pathankot that security forces including the NSG and Army have deployed major combat elements along with medical and administrative support. “It clearly shows that the government is completely in dark regarding this attack”, it added.

The sprawling Pathankot air force base is spread over several miles, including some forested sections. Pakistan strongly condemned the attack.

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

India accuses Pakistan of arming and training insurgents in its portion of Kashmir. “There was an input from the security agencies and the government handled the issue prudently”, Sharma said over the Congress questioning the government’s handling of the threat to the nation’s security.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

Lashing out at the Centre in the wake of the Pathankot terror strike, the Shiv Sena today said it had warned Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to trust Pakistan and that time has now come for him to focus on India rather than trying to unite the world.

Asked whether the foreign secretaries would meet as scheduled, Jaitley parried the question, remarking “The operations are still on”.

However, investigations into the attack have revealed that while four militants entered the air base after the abduction of the police official, two others who were part of the second team had managed to sneak in before them. “And we continue to engage with the government of Pakistan to that end”, Kirby said.