Monday, June 09, 2014

At least 18 Pakistanis killed by assailants who stormed Karachi airport --- ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Militants launched a brazen attack on Karachi’s international airport Sunday night, killing at least 18 people and seizing control of part of the airport in Pakistan’s largest city for more than five hours. -- The well-coordinated attack involved 10 assailants who were armed with grenades, rocket launchers and assault weapons, authorities said. Some of them were also said to be wearing suicide vests. They battled Pakistani security forces through the night before all the assailants were slain, officials said. -- Several large fires broke out at Jinnah International Airport, but all airline passengers escaped unharmed, according to a Pakistani army spokesman. -- But the siege, one of the worst security breaches at a Pakistani airport, is raising serious questions about the country’s ability to protect its major transit hubs amid the persistent threat of terrorism. The attack comes as Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and the country’s military have been considering a major offensive against the Pakistani Taliban, which has been waging a bloody insurgency. -- “This act of terror is unforgivable,” Khawaja Muhammad Asif, Pakistan’s defense minister, told local television reporters. “The state will give an appropriate response to such cowardly acts of terror. Those who plan and those who execute the terrorist attacks will be defeated.” -- In a statement, the Pakistani Taliban took credit for the attack. - More, Tim Craig, Washingtonpost

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