Indian troops search air force base after weekend battles

As gunfight inside Indian Air Force (IAF) base in Punjab Monday entered the third day, Indian officials said the operation was likely to prolong.

The government official, who requested anonymity, said it could take another 48 hours for the base to be secured, and by then the government hoped to have more information about the attackers and what links they may have to Pakistan, if any.

“We want to see the government of Pakistan continue to press the fight against terrorists, all terrorists, and to meet their own expectations that they’re not going to discriminate among groups”, he said.

Meanwhile, an National Investigation Agency (NIA) team arrived at the Pathankot Air Force base.

This conglomerate of militant groups is led by the Kashmir-based Hizb-ul-Mujahideen leader, Sayeed Salahudeen. It houses a fleet of India’s Russian-origin MiG-21 fighters and Mi-25 and Mi-35 attack helicopters, along with other military hardware.

“Pathankot air base attack has been carried out by the mujahideen associated with National Highway Squad”, said Syed Sadaqat Hussain, a spokesman for UJC.

According to investigations, there is a very strong possibility that the terrorists had sneaked into the air base in two groups, sources told NDTV.

At least four attackers and seven Indian soldiers have died so far. The attack began early Saturday morning and has dragged on as troops struggled to find the heavily armed attackers in the sprawling base, with forests and fields, homes for personnel based there and a school for their children.

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.

Police said the militants, who were disguised as soldiers, had hijacked a police auto and driven it to the base before dawn on Saturday.

Indian security forces are trying to secure a major air force base near the border with Pakistan where an attack by suspected militants left at least 11 people dead, amid reports of fresh gunfire at the compound.

Combing and search operations will continue till “we are able to fully render the base safe”, NSG IG Maj Gen Dushant Singh had said.