Pakistan: Jinnah airport resumes operations after Taliban attack

Jinnah international airport in Karachi has resumed operations after an assault by Pakistani Taliban which left 28 people, including all 10 attackers, dead.

The assault on Pakistan’s largest airport began late on Sunday, with security forces gaining control in the early hours of Monday.

The Taliban have said they carried out the raid as revenge for the killing of their leader last year.

The government said a full investigation was under way.

Asif Kirmani, a spokesman for PM Nawaz Sharif, also praised the security forces for their response.

Analysts say the latest violence has further undermined Nawaz Sharif’s attempt at initiating peace talks with the Taliban.

The negotiations have made little headway since February. Critics have argued that they could allow the militants to regroup and gain strength.

Pakistani officials said 10 heavily armed gunmen stormed the airport in two teams of five on Sunday at 23:00 local time.

The attackers, wearing explosives belts, are believed to have entered the area using fake ID cards, although some reports suggest they cut through a barbed wire fence.

They threw grenades and fired at security guards in the old terminal, used for cargo and VIP operations.

Jinnah airport was shut down, passengers were evacuated and flights diverted as security forces fought back.

Seven militants were shot dead in a gun battle with security forces which lasted until dawn. Another three attackers detonated their explosives.

The dead terminal staff were said to be mostly security guards from the Airport Security Force (ASF) but also airline workers. At least 14 people were wounded.

The Chief Minister of Sindh province, Qaim Ali Shah, said the attackers “were well trained” and their plan “very well thought out”.

Later on Monday, security forces displayed a large quantity of weapons and ammunition seized from the attackers, as well as food, indicating they had been prepared for a lengthy siege.

Army officials said there were indications that some of the gunmen may have been foreign nationals.

The Taliban later said they had carried out the attack, and that its aim had been to hijack aircraft, though they failed to do so.

It was “a message to the Pakistan government that we are still alive to react over the killings of innocent people in bomb attacks on their villages”, said spokesman Shahidullah Shahid.

Pakistan has been fighting an Islamist insurgency for more than a decade, with the Pakistani Taliban the main militant group.