A Taliban attack on a Pakistani military base on the outskirts of the northwestern city of Peshawar killed 20 people yesterday, including 16 worshipers who were gunned down when the militants stormed a mosque inside the compound during prayers.
The attack triggered an hours-long firefight at the base and Pakistani forces said they killed 13 of the attackers, though it was unclear how many were involved in the assault. Apart from 16 slain inside the mosque, three guards employed with the air force and an army captain were also killed, officials said.
The attackers stormed a guard’s station at the Badaber base, Pakistani air force officials said.
Photo: AP
The base was established in the 1960s as an air force facility, but has mostly been used as residences for air force employees and officers from Peshawar.
Army spokesman Major General Asim Saleem Bajwa said 13 attackers were killed by the security forces.
He said the attack was quickly repulsed and that the bodies of the slain “terrorists” were lying on the ground in the base compound.
Taliban spokesman Mohammed Khorasani claimed responsibility for the attack on behalf of the group.
In a statement to the media, he said 14 Taliban fighters were involved in the assault.
They offered “safe passage” to women and children after attacking the base, Khorasani said.
He added that the Taliban “targeted” 50 security forces, without explaining what that meant.
Details about how the Taliban managed to make their way into the mosque, which is inside the compound walls, and gun down 16 people during prayers were sketchy.
Bajwa said the militants entered the base from different directions in a two-pronged assault — apparently one push targeted the mosque — but that security forces quickly responded.
It was also unclear if any of the attackers got away.
According to Bajwa and a statement released by the air force, along with those killed, 10 soldiers were wounded in the firefight, along with an unspecified number of civilians.
The dead and most the wounded were taken to a military hospital in the area, where access was barred to reporters.
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