Indian forces search for suspected last attacker at air base

The warning came after the gunmen kidnapped an off-duty policeman near the base the day before the attack began, apparently to steal his vehicle.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

The Foreign Office said the unfortunate terrorist incident in Pathankot, India, has been categorically condemned by Pakistan.

The attacked air base sits on the road to Kashmir close to the Pakistani border.

Sharad Kumar, chief of India’s National Investigation Agency, has said that telephone intercepts suggested the attackers were from Pakistan. He did not give details in the interview with a television news channel TimesNow on Tuesday.

The statement is seen in India as an attempt to show that Kashmiri insurgents were responsible and not militants originating from Pakistan. Pakistan denies that and says it only provides moral and diplomatic support.

India has already given “specific and actionable information” to Pakistan on the involvement of militants in Pakistan in the attack, it said.

It started on Saturday, when a group of gunmen – wearing Indian army uniforms – entered the residential quarters on the base. The air base has probably the highest concentration of military personnel in India because of its proximity to the country’s border with Pakistan, an analyst from Jane’s Information Group said.

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 neighbouring country by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month.

SP Salwinder Singh and his cook Madan Gopal alerted the local police about terrorists who abducted them but their claims were not given credence for hours.

The attackers had reportedly made several calls to Pakistan, some of them brief and some long. “The Pakistani Government, the Pakistani people very much understand the threat here”.

Lauding the valiant efforts of the security forces for defending the Pathankot air base from the fidayeen, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday said six terrorists have been neutralised so far in the combing operation, which is still on for safety objective.

Air force spokeswoman Rochelle D’Silva said Tuesday “there has been no firing since Monday night at the base”.

The search operations at Pathankot air force base will continue until all areas have been completely secured, Maj.

Some gaps led to security lapses, leading to the pre-dawn terror attack on Saturday, the minister said.

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

According to India’s External Affairs Ministry, PM Modi received a call from his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif regarding the assault.

The phone call from Sharif came as the Pakistan link to the attack became clear.