Fresh gunfire heard at Indian air base near Pakistan border

In Jammu, Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office, Jitendra Singh, said that Indian security forces are well-prepared to deal with all situations. India blamed that attack on assailants who had infiltrated from Pakistan.

As authorities investigate the attack, few details about the terrorists emerged.

Though sound of gunshots is being heard from inside the air base, there are reports that the terrorists have been contained in a non-operational area of the facility.

Notably, security forces in the state were on alert after Intelligence inputs warned about possibility of an attack at the base yesterday after a police personnel of Gurdaspur was assaulted by the terrorists.

Condemning the terror attack, Javadekar said: “But the way our forces handled it is commendable…” In the ensuing fierce encounter which is still on, four terrorists have been killed and also two security personnel martyred with reports of six others being injured.

“Pakistan is our neighbor, we want peace, but any terror attack on India will get a befitting response”, India’s Home Minister Rajnath Singh reportedly said.

The IAF base is around 250 km Chandigarh.

“Though firing is over but the complete area is not sanitised”.

Sharma’s house is about 700-800 meters away from the Air Force station.

“Two of the attackers are believed to be dead in the gunfight while the rest are holding out inside one of the buildings in the base”, he said.

Authorities suspect that three more terrorists may still be holed up at the Indian air force base near the border with Pakistan, according to the Times of India, a local newspaper. The entire area near the IAF station was sealed.

Authorities had put the Punjab on high alert on Friday after five gunmen in army fatigues hijacked a vehicle driven by a senior police officer, which was later found abandoned on a highway connecting Pathankot to the restive neighbouring region of Kashmir.