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30 killed in attack on northwest Pakistan airbase

Pakistani soldiers arrive to take position outside a Pakistan Air Force base after an attack by militants in the northwestern city of Peshawar on September 18, 2015 (AFP photo).

At least 30 people are killed after pro-Taliban militants attack an air force base in the northwestern Pakistan city of Peshawar.

The militants struck the residential compound within the base on Friday, killing at least 17 people.

Soldiers quickly surrounded the attackers, confining them to a small area and killing at least 13 of them, according to the military's main spokesman Major General Asim Bajwa.

Pakistani soldiers take position outside the Pakistan Air Force base after an attack by militants in the northwestern city of Peshawar on September 18, 2015 (AFP photo).

 

The official said operations were continuing to flush out any remaining gunmen.

The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) group claimed responsibility for the assault.

Television pictures showed helicopters hovering above the base while police and ambulances gathered outside. Nearby residents said explosions and gunfire could still be heard more than three hours after the attack began.

Army airstrikes in the country's North Waziristan tribal region killed at least 15 militants earlier in the month.

Last December, a group of pro-Taliban militants stormed an army-run school in Peshawar and killed about 150 people, including 132 students.

Ever since, the military has engaged in an offensive against militant bases along the Afghan border and the government has started out measures to tackle militancy, which has led to a drop in the number of such attacks.


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