Karachi airport attack leaves 28 people dead

At least 28 people have been killed after an airport in the Pakistani city of Karachi came under heavy militant attack.

The Pakistani army fought an all-night battle on Monday with the gunmen who besieged Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport. The assault at the airport started before midnight on Sunday

The Pakistani army forces launched an operation and later announced that all 10 assailants had been killed. This is while, after authorities initially declared the airport cleared around dawn, new gunfire erupted at the airport again, prompting security forces to launch a new military operation at the airport in the southern city.

“The attack is over and we have cleared the area of all militants,” Sibtain Rizvi, a spokesman for the paramilitary Rangers said later after about 12 hours of fighting in all.

According to medical sources, the bodies of the 18 victims of the deadly assault, including 11 airport security guards and four workers from Pakistan International Airlines, were taken to a Karachi hospital. 26 people are also said to have been wounded in the attack.

The office of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif issued a statement “commending the bravery” of security forces. It said normal flight operations would start again in the afternoon.

Pro-Taliban militants have claimed responsibility for the attack on the airport in Karachi. They have managed to spread their influence in various regions of the country despite sporadic offensives by the Pakistani army.

Thousands of Pakistanis have lost their lives in bombings and other militant attacks since 2001, when Pakistan entered an alliance with the United States in the so-called war on terror. More than 4,000 Pakistani police and soldiers have been also killed so far.