RAWALPINDI: A terror attack on the Mianwali Training Air Base of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has been thwarted and all the personnel and assets are safe, the military’s media wing said in a statement on Saturday.
“On 04 November, 2023, in the early hours of the day, Mianwali Training Air Base of Pakistan Air Force came under a failed terrorist attack which, Alhumdolliah, due to the swift and effective response by the troops, has been foiled and thwarted, ensuring the safety and security of personnel and assets,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said.
It said that the military demonstrated exceptional courage and killed three terrorists when they attempted to enter the base.
The ISPR further added that the remaining three terrorists have been cornered/isolated due to a timely and effective response by the troops
“However, during the attack, some damage to three already grounded aircraft and a fuel bowser also occurred.”
The military said that a comprehensive joint clearance and combing operation is in the final stages to completely clear the area.
“Pakistan Armed Forces remain committed to eliminating the menace of terrorism from the country at all costs.”
14 soldiers martyred in terrorist attack
A day earlier, 14 soldiers were martyred in a terrorist attack on two vehicles carrying security forces in Gwadar. The incident occurred when the security convoy was moving from Pasni to Ormara in Gwadar district.
ISPR said that a sanitisation operation was being carried out in the area and perpetrators of “this heinous act will be hunted down [and] brought to justice”.
Interim Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani strongly condemned the terrorist attack.
“Such acts are utterly reprehensible. Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of the martyred and injured. Pakistan stands resolute against terrorists,” he said in a post on X.
TTP suicide bomber among two terrorists killed in KP IBOs
Moreover, two terrorists, including a Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) suicide bomber, were killed while two others were injured in separate intelligence-based operations (IBO) in different areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Friday.
Three soldiers also lost their lives in one of the IBOs and a separate incident of an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in the Kulachi area of Dera Ismail Khan district.
In a separate IBO conducted in Lakki Marwat district, the security forces busted various terrorist hideouts, killing one terrorist.
Unfortunately, two soldiers — Naik Zafar Iqbal, 37, from Gujranwala and Sepoy Haji Jan, 30 from Gilgit Baltistan — lost their lives while fighting gallantly in an intense exchange of fire.
Moreover, another soldier, Havildar Shahid Iqbal, 39, from Mirpurkhas, embraced martyrdom in an IED blast in the Kulachi area of DI Khan.
Pakistan has been facing the daunting challenge of terrorism for the last year as several incidents of terror and violence have taken place lately. Earlier today, 14 soldiers were martyred as terrorists attacked a security forces convoy in Gwadar.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Syed Asim Munir last week said that the armed forces and its security and intelligence setups have fought the menace of terrorism in an exemplary manner despite sustained and varied support of inimical forces.
“Success will be ours InshAllah with the continued support of the people of Pakistan,” COAS Munir said.
Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS), in a report released in October, noted that the security forces lost at least 386 personnel in the first nine months of 2023, marking an eight-year high.
In the third quarter of 2023, some 445 people lost their lives and 440 suffered injuries from as many as 190 terror attacks and counter-terror operations.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan were the primary centres of violence, accounting for nearly 94% of all fatalities and 89% of attacks (including incidents of terrorism and security forces operations) recorded during this period.
