Taliban attack Pakistani naval air base

[wautd]

The fight is currently still ongoing.

Pakistan: Gunmen in Karachi storm Mehran naval air base

The BBC's Aleem Maqbool says explosions and gunfire have been heard at the base
Gunmen have attacked a military base in the Pakistani city of Karachi, killing at least 11 soldiers, officials say.

The attackers are now said to be holed up in an office building with hostages, including Chinese military personnel, at the Mehran naval aviation base.

Eight hours after the incident began, blasts and gunfire were heard as security forces brought in more troops and tackled the militants.

The Pakistani Taliban says it carried out the attack.

"It was the revenge of martyrdom of Osama Bin Laden. It was the proof that we are still united and powerful," Ehsanullah Ehsan told Reuters news agency.

He said the attackers had enough food and ammunition to "fight and survive for three days".

The Taliban have vowed to avenge the killing of Bin Laden by US special forces on 2 May.

They have carried out several attacks since then.

The attack is similiar to a raid in October 2009 in which Taliban militants laid siege to the army headquarters in the garrison town of Rawalpindi, killing dozens.

The BBC's Aleem Maqbool in Islamabad says the Karachi incident will revive fears about the security of Pakistan's nuclear installations.

Aircraft burned

On Sunday evening at 2230 (1730 GMT), militants stormed three hangars housing aircraft at the Mehran base, according to officials.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik said: "We have been able to confine them to one building and an operation is under way either to kill or capture them."

Their first targets were aircraft parked on the tarmac and equipment in nearby hangers, says the BBC's Syed Shoaib Hasan at the scene.

Eyewitnesses say the militants used rocket-propelled grenades to damage and destroy several warplanes. These included the Pakistan navy's premier anti-submarine attack jet - the US-made P-3C Orion.

At least two of these multi-million dollar aircraft were set ablaze.

The gunmen then opened indiscriminate fire, killing several naval personnel as they carried their raid into the heart of the base.

Subsequently, navy commandos and marines launched a counter-assault. Dozens of heavily armed army reinforcements also arrived to provide cover.

Some of the militants have now been killed, officials say.

The remaining gunmen have taken several officials, including Chinese military personnel, hostage inside a building. Security officials say commandos are now being sent in to clear this area.

At dawn on Monday, three loud blasts were heard, followed by gunfire.

"The operation still continues. It is not over yet," one security official told Reuters.

On Friday, the Taliban bombed a US consulate convoy in Peshawar, killing one Pakistani.

Other attacks by Pakistani militants this month include a raid on a security post that killed two police in the north-west and a twin suicide bombing at a paramilitary police training centre.

[Mr. Coffee]

So to avenge Osama getting his ass ganked by the US, they attack a Pakistani military base and take PRC military personnel hostage?

Gotta give them credit, what they lack in common sense, brains, and anything resembling rationality they make up for in sheer fucking weaponized dumb.

[Hawkwings]

the Pakistan navy's premier anti-submarine attack jet - the US-made P-3C Orion.

GAH IT'S NOT A JET.

The remaining gunmen have taken several officials, including Chinese military personnel, hostage inside a building.

I really want to see Chinese commandos being flown in to deal with this situation. Nobody knows much about them do they? Could be their coming-out party on the international stage if they do come in. Probably unlikely though.

[mr friendly guy]

BBC (same link as above) have now updated the information.

Pakistani troops have ended a siege by militants who attacked a naval base in the city of Karachi.

The troops are now said to be "mopping up" after the raid, which has left 10 soldiers and at least three attackers dead.

Reports hostages including foreigners were taken were denied, and foreigners at the base are said to be safe.

The Pakistan Taliban says the raid was to avenge Osama Bin Laden's killing by US special forces on 2 May.

"It was the revenge of martyrdom of Osama Bin Laden. It was the proof that we are still united and powerful," Ehsanullah Ehsan told Reuters news agency.

They have carried out several attacks since then.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik said 10 soldiers had died and 15 were wounded in the attack.

Two attackers were also killed and a third blew himself up. Another is believed to be buried under debris and two more are thought to have escaped.

An unexploded suicide jacket and live grenades were found, the minister added.

There were 17 foreigners at the site, including 11 Chinese aviation trainers, but all are safe, Mr Malik said.

The attack is similiar to a raid in October 2009 in which Taliban militants laid siege to the army headquarters in the garrison town of Rawalpindi, killing dozens.

The BBC's Aleem Maqbool in Islamabad says the Karachi incident will revive fears about the security of Pakistan's nuclear installations.
Aircraft burned

On Sunday evening at 2230 (1730 GMT), militants stormed three hangars housing aircraft at the Mehran naval aviation base, according to officials.

Mr Malik said they cut through barbed wire at a place on the perimeter where they could not be detected by security cameras, and they were wearing black.

Their first targets were aircraft parked on the tarmac and equipment in nearby hangers, says the BBC's Syed Shoaib Hasan at the scene.

Eyewitnesses say the militants used rocket-propelled grenades to damage and destroy several warplanes. These included the Pakistan navy's premier anti-submarine and marine surveillance aircraft - the US-made P-3C Orion.

At least two of these multi-million dollar planes were set ablaze.

The gunmen then opened indiscriminate fire, killing several naval personnel as they carried their raid into the heart of the base.

Subsequently, navy commandos and marines launched a counter-assault. Dozens of heavily armed army reinforcements also arrived to provide cover.

Some of the militants were killed, officials say.

They added that troops were now combing the base for any remaining militants but they had to be careful because of military aircraft on the site.

"Because of the presence of several assets on the base, the operation is being carried out in a cautious, smart way," Irfan ul Haq told the Associated Press news agency.

"That's why it's taking so long."

On Friday, the Taliban bombed a US consulate convoy in Peshawar, killing one Pakistani.

Other attacks by Pakistani militants this month include a raid on a security post that killed two police in the north-west and a twin suicide bombing at a paramilitary police training centre.

[Sarevok]

So to avenge Osama getting his ass ganked by the US, they attack a Pakistani military base and take PRC military personnel hostage?

Gotta give them credit, what they lack in common sense, brains, and anything resembling rationality they make up for in sheer fucking weaponized dumb.

No. The Pakistani military has been under attack islamists for several years now. This is just the latest in a string of attacks.

[wautd]

If it wasn't for Osama they'd probably found another reason. It's not like the tali-tubbies are known to be reasonable.

I'm rather surpised they've gotten this far in what supposed to be a major naval base. Or is it really hard to guard a base of such size?

[Zaune]

I'm rather surpised they've gotten this far in what supposed to be a major naval base. Or is it really hard to guard a base of such size?

Special Forces train for this kind of operation all the time. It takes a lot of careful planning and recconnaissance and very precise coordination, but it's certainly possible.

[Elheru Aran]

...Pakistan *needs* anti-submarine planes?

This does somewhat bring up a thought I've been having for some time, how long might it be before the Taliban try to split off a chunk of Pakistan and Afghanistan as their own little camel-republic (as opposed to banana republic, not many bananas there)? Or is that likely to happen anytime soon? I suspect the Pakistanis would rather mind them trying, no matter how much they might side with their cause...

[Pelranius]

One could probably get a pretty good idea of the base layout just by using Google Earth, or asking some disgruntled PN ex/personnel.

[Uraniun235]

...Pakistan *needs* anti-submarine planes?

Why wouldn't they?

Put another way, why would they be in less need of them than any other country with a coastline?

[Simon_Jester]

More so- they're trying to be prepared to fight the Indian Navy, and the Indian Navy might well be able to fire nuclear cruise missiles from its submarines (I don't know if they can now, but they might well be working on it, and capable of it, in ten or twenty years. The Pakistanis will quite reasonably want to be armed now to deal with that possibility later).

So yes, they need the ability to sink submarines off their coast.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

...Pakistan *needs* anti-submarine planes?

This does somewhat bring up a thought I've been having for some time, how long might it be before the Taliban try to split off a chunk of Pakistan and Afghanistan as their own little camel-republic (as opposed to banana republic, not many bananas there)? Or is that likely to happen anytime soon? I suspect the Pakistanis would rather mind them trying, no matter how much they might side with their cause...

India has Submarines.

[Lonestar]

P-3s are also useful for plan old "fly around and see what you can see". The Iranians are not using their unknown number one P-3 for ASW stuff.

[Sea Skimmer]

The Pakistani navy has been attacked a bunch of times recently in Karachi because its less riddled with infiltrators then the Army; and those P-3s have a very powerful FLIR system they can and almost certainly do use to spy on land targets. Before the US had drones we used P-3s a surrogates for special operations missions, for example in the Battle of Mogadishu.

[Edward Yee]

Let's not forget that in a pinch, a P-3 can even be used for anti-surface warfare -- a P-3C was used to take out a Libyan coast guard boat on March 28th this year using a Maverick missile.

[Mr. Coffee]

So to avenge Osama getting his ass ganked by the US, they attack a Pakistani military base and take PRC military personnel hostage?

Gotta give them credit, what they lack in common sense, brains, and anything resembling rationality they make up for in sheer fucking weaponized dumb.

No. The Pakistani military has been under attack islamists for several years now. This is just the latest in a string of attacks.

Oh, I understand that the fundaloons have been fucking with thr Pakistani government for years, I was talking specifically about their spokesman's reasoning for this specific attack. These fucker's are beyond nuts.

[hongi]

The absurd thing is that when I go on Pakistani military forums, 3/4 of the posters are furiously pointing fingers at the US and India. Their argumentation goes something like "BLACKWATER CIA MOSSAD INDIA HATES US!". For some reason, they think TTP are American-run. Lol. So long as they entertain their delusion, they're going to get hit over and over and over and over again. They need to wake up and realise that the shit they're sitting on is of their own making.

[wautd]

The absurd thing is that when I go on Pakistani military forums, 3/4 of the posters are furiously pointing fingers at the US and India. Their argumentation goes something like "BLACKWATER CIA MOSSAD INDIA HATES US!". For some reason, they think TTP are American-run. Lol. So long as they entertain their delusion, they're going to get hit over and over and over and over again. They need to wake up and realise that the shit they're sitting on is of their own making.

Yeah, it was the same thing when OBL was killed. They were happy to be infuriated at the US for sneaking in special forces to kill OBL, rather than asking questions about how the hell Osama was living in comfort for years at the doorstep of a Pakistani military base and hospital.

[Edward Yee]

If the most public reactions are to be believed, then said posters are in line with a noticeable portion of the Pakistani civilian population and lower-level government officials.

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

No, it's natural. The Pakistanis are known for pointing fingers at anyone but themselves. Apparently, it's a culture of self denial. That's what they are. They will continue ranting about the Great Enemy India, but India for a start doesn't give shit about them. They are kind of like N. Korea and Myanmar in some respects. I guess birds of the same feather hang out together.

[Sea Skimmer]

The problem with India is, India was dumb enough to put a national border into its damn constitution which includes claiming parts of Kashmir it has never controlled. India can thus never negotiate the subject in good faith ever because it would require a full scale constitutional amendment first and they wont ever do it politically. So Pakistan low and behold feels rather threatened by another nuclear power claiming land. They've got lots of problems in Pakistan, but don't paint India out to be a disinterested party.

I've noticed the Pakistanis on above mentioned forums are also stupidly proud of a couple divisional scale victories they won in the 1965 war even though no one really accomplished anything in the conflict.

[PainRack]

If it wasn't for Osama they'd probably found another reason. It's not like the tali-tubbies are known to be reasonable.

I'm rather surpised they've gotten this far in what supposed to be a major naval base. Or is it really hard to guard a base of such size?

Yes.

Security measures meant to guard a base work well, but only for a while. Try and remember that every shift you have working on said base is working long, tedious boring hours, in shifts over and over again.
If you have a base that's large, the problem starts coming in terms of diffused responsibility, communications and just sheer number of people working.
That's before we start talking about the larger number of people coming in and other factors.

[Pelranius]

The problem with India is, India was dumb enough to put a national border into its damn constitution which includes claiming parts of Kashmir it has never controlled. India can thus never negotiate the subject in good faith ever because it would require a full scale constitutional amendment first and they wont ever do it politically. So Pakistan low and behold feels rather threatened by another nuclear power claiming land. They've got lots of problems in Pakistan, but don't paint India out to be a disinterested party.

I take it that same national border mentioned in the constitution is why the Sino-Indian talks on the border demarcation has gotten no where? (The Chinese hold Aksai Chin, which India claims to be part of Jammu & Kashmir, though that claim is debatable at best).

[Fingolfin_Noldor]

The problem with India is, India was dumb enough to put a national border into its damn constitution which includes claiming parts of Kashmir it has never controlled. India can thus never negotiate the subject in good faith ever because it would require a full scale constitutional amendment first and they wont ever do it politically. So Pakistan low and behold feels rather threatened by another nuclear power claiming land. They've got lots of problems in Pakistan, but don't paint India out to be a disinterested party.

I've noticed the Pakistanis on above mentioned forums are also stupidly proud of a couple divisional scale victories they won in the 1965 war even though no one really accomplished anything in the conflict.

With or without Kashmir, Pakistan will feel and always feel threatened by India. The military leadership is hopelessly paranoid, and nothing is going to change that. India is the favourite boogeyman for the Pakistani leadership as it is.

[mr friendly guy]

With or without Kashmir, Pakistan will feel and always feel threatened by India. The military leadership is hopelessly paranoid, and nothing is going to change that. India is the favourite boogeyman for the Pakistani leadership as it is.

Military leadership? Didn't Musharaff resign to be replaced by a civillian leader?