Terrorists enter PAF camp, kill 29

PESHAWAR: Twenty-nine persons, including 16 worshippers present inside a mosque and seven others preparing for prayers in their barracks, were killed when militants stormed the Pakistan Air Force Camp in Badaber on Friday.
Security personnel led by the Quick Reaction Force (QRF) cleared the base after killing the 13 attackers in an exchange of fire that continued for a couple of hours. Several suspects were subsequently held in a search operation carried out in the vicinity of the PAF camp after the attack.
The attack is the biggest in Pakistan after the one on the Army Public School on December 16, 2014 in which 147 people, including 122 schoolchildren, were killed.
The base, which is not operational since long and is being used for accommodation of PAF officers and other ranks, is located on the Inqilab Road near the Surizai village in the limits of the Badaber Police Station.
Officials said the attackers armed with rocket-launchers, hand-grenades and automatic weapons entered through two gates into two different sections of the base and further split into small groups.
“The encounter began immediately due to the quick response by the security men and the attackers were contained within an area of 50 meters,” Major General Asim Saleem Bajwa, Director General of the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), told reporters in Peshawar.
He added that one group of eight attackers opened fire in the mosque ahead of the morning Fajr prayers, killing 16 worshippers. “Another seven were martyred inside their barracks while preparing for the prayers. All the eight attackers on this side were gunned down in the vicinity of the mosque,” said Maj Gen Asim Bajwa.
He added that seven other attackers were killed on the other side of the base.
The DG ISPR added that the attackers clad in the uniform of Frontier Constabulary personnel entered the base after coming in a vehicle that was taken into custody.
“All the 13 attackers were surrounded and killed,” said the spokesperson for the Pakistan Army. He added that none of them was wearing any suicide jacket as their bodies were intact.
He said telephonic intercepts revealed that a splinter group of the outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) was involved in the attack. He added that the attack was planned in Afghanistan.
Subsequently, the TTP spokesman, Mohammad Khorasani, claimed responsibility for the attack through an email sent to members of the media.
Maj Gen Asim Bajwa confirmed that 29 people embraced martyrdom in the attack during the exchange of fire with the attackers. He said the slain included 23 PAF officials and the Pakistan Army’s Captain Asfandyar Bokhari, who had won the Sword of Honour at the Pakistan Military Academy on account of his excellent performance during training. He is said to have fought valiantly and led from the front against the terrorists in Badaber.
He said that brigade commander of Peshawar led the operations in which the Quick Reaction Force, army commandoes and local PAF troops were present while the police stayed outside the base in the outer cordon.
He added that one of the three helicopters used in clearance and evacuation operations made an emergency landing due to a technical fault.
As many as 25 other personnel were injured in the attack. The injured were taken to the Combined Military Hospital (CMH) and Lady Reading Hospital (LRH).
Those martyred in the attack were identified as Captain Asfandyar Bokhari, Naik Manzoor, Naik Tariq and PAF officials Kamran, Imran, Javed, Shan, Hussain, Ayub, Munir, Javed, Asif, Zain, Said Hussain, Nadeem, Tariq, Saqib, Asif, Sohaib, Faiz, Asim, Javed, Amir, Sardar and Khalid.
Three bodies were still unidentified at the mortuary of the CMH Peshawar. The dead also included civilian employees of the PAF, including a driver, cook, etc.
The Capital City Police Officer, Peshawar, Mubarak Zeb, said the vehicle used in the attack had been taken into custody. He added a search operation was carried out in Badaber and Matani areas after the incident during which several suspects were held. He added that an investigation would be launched after lodging the case.
According to the spokesperson of the Rescue 1122, Bilal Faizi, 18 ambulances of the Rescue-1122, five fire-fighting vehicles and 150 personnel took part in the operation to transport 20 bodies and 30 injured people from Badaber to the CMH Peshawar.
Corps Commander, Peshawar, Lt Gen Hidayatur Rahman, carried out aerial surveillance of the Badaber Camp.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, Chief of the Army Staff Gen Raheel Sharif and Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman rushed to Peshawar after the attack.
According to the DG ISPR, the chiefs of army and air forces together visited the Badaber base and met the army, PAF and police officers who took part in the operation against the attackers.