PAKISTANI COMMANDOS regained control of a military base in central Karachi yesterday, ending an audacious 18-hour militant assault that killed 10 soldiers, destroyed two sensitive aircraft and dealt a humiliating blow to the army three weeks after the raid that killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden.
Flames glowed over Pakistan’s largest city amid a cacophony of gunfire and explosions as up to six heavily armed militants wreaked havoc until yesterday lunchtime inside the Mehran base, just off a major thoroughfare. Six American military contractors and 11 Chinese nationals were present but escaped unharmed, officials said.
The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility, describing the attack as “revenge for the martyrdom of Osama bin Laden”. But analysts said a smaller jihadi group could also have been involved.
Displaying pictures of the dead attackers on his mobile phone, the interior minister, Rehman Malik, called on Pakistanis to unite against the Taliban and al-Qaeda. “I regret that some of us believe they are our friends and are praying for them. I appeal to the nation to consider who is the real enemy,” he said.
The sophistication of the assault, the duration of the siege and the attackers’ apparent knowledge of the base raised fears about the weaknesses in Pakistan’s military defences and stoked worries that the attackers had received inside information. The military is still reeling from the May 2nd US raid on bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad.
Mr Malik said the militants, armed with rifles and grenade launchers, approached the base from the Malir river, which runs behind it. Using wire cutters and a ladder, they scaled the perimeter fence and continued to the main base by exploiting a blind spot in surveillance camera coverage, suggesting detailed knowledge of the base layout.
They headed straight for the aircraft hangars, where they fired rockets that destroyed a helicopter and two of the navy’s four Orion P-3C surveillance planes, valued at $36 million (€25 million) each.
The US embassy, which initially denied any Americans were on the base, later confirmed that six contractors were present to service the Orions, two of which had been delivered last June.
Dozens of navy commandos and army rangers responded to the incursion, triggering a gunfight that continued through Sunday night until Monday lunchtime. Commuters grew alarmed as they travelled to work amid bursts of gunfire from the bases and screaming ambulances that rushed in and out the main gate.
Mr Malik said 10 military personnel died in the operation. He paid special tribute to Lieut Syed Yaser Abbas, who led the response force. “He sacrificed his life to save the assets of the Pakistan army,” he said. The security forces eventually cornered the assailants. At least three died, one in a suicide explosion.
It was the third major attack since bin Laden’s death, following suicide bombings that killed 90 military recruits and targeted an American convoy in Peshawar. The fact that such a small team could hold commandos at bay for 18 hours caused widespread shock, raising fresh questions about the security of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal, believed to be scattered at secret bases across the country.
Pakistan’s prime minister, Yusuf Raza Gilani, condemned the attack as a “cowardly act of terror”.
Meanwhile in Afghanistan, the Afghan Taliban denied media reports that its leader Mullah Omar had been killed in Pakistan. An Afghan intelligence official later said Omar had been arrested in Pakistan’s tribal belt. Pakistani intelligence said they had no information about his whereabouts.
– ( Guardianservice)
KARACHI ASSUALT: WAS IT AN INSIDE JOB?
Extremists are still within the lower ranks, however, and have been suspected of involvement in such atrocities as the assault in 2009 on army headquarters in Rawalpindi. Air force officers were arrested for a separate plot against Mr Musharraf in 2006. Some perpetrators have fled to Waziristan, where they find shelter among jihadi groups that allegedly enjoy covert army support.
– DECLAN WALSH