Pakistan retakes its naval base from Taliban

In an unbelievable act of daring and a big embarrassment for Pakistan, Taliban militants attacked and then occupied a high-security naval airbase in Karachi for 18 hours. Apparently four to six, heavily armed insurgents stormed the Mehran naval base under cover of darkness using ladders to get into the facility. Once inside, they scattered around the compound. Armed with rocket-launchers and machine guns, they destroyed millions of dollars of military hardware including an anti-submarine plane supplied by the United States, the PC-3 Orion. The coordinated attack began about 10:30 p.m. local time on Sunday apparently with a trio of blasts that set several buildings ablaze. It is reported that at least five more explosions occurred as Pakistani commandos and marines fought back in multiple firefights with the militants over several hours trying to regain control of the base. On Monday, a final gunbattle saw the militants holed up in an office building surrounded by commandos.

In a final tally of the losses, it is said that at least 11 navy personnel and one paramilitary ranger were killed; while a further 14 members of the security forces were wounded. Four militants were killed and possibly two managed to escape. There are conflicting reports at the moment about the details of the event, such as the number of insurgents and what was destroyed, but there can be no doubt that this brazen attack on what is supposed to be a highly secured facility raises a number of questions of just how much in control is Pakistan of its own country. There is already talk of whether or not there was some assistance from within the Pakistani forces themselves.

The Taliban have claimed responsibility saying this was in retaliation for the killing of Osama bin Laden. This is the third major attack the group has claimed since the Bin Laden killing. On May 13, a twin-suicide attack killed around 90 people, most of them recruits of Frontier Constabulary, at a training centre of the paramilitary force at Shabqdar in Charsadda district. On May 18, two security personnel and 15 militants were killed in a gunfight Wednesday near Peshawar, capital of the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Dozens of militants attacked a security check-post about 10km north of Peshawar and a gunbattle erupted with security forces. The exchange of fire continued for about four hours until the attackers retreated.

All the newspapers are saying that this raid is going to reignite questions about security for Pakistan’s fast-growing nuclear arsenal, now believed to be about 100 weapons.

(The Guardian, The Washington Post)

France24 – May 23/2011

Pakistan retakes control of naval base raided by militants

A military spokesman says 12 troops were killed. The attack renews questions about the nuclear power’s ability to defend its weapons installations.

References

Wikipedia: PNS Mehran

P.N.S. Mehran, Pakistan Naval Station Mehran, is a Pakistan Navy naval base and the headquarters of the Navy’s Naval Air Arm.

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