Pakistan-based terrorist group Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan (TJP) attacked a Pakistan Air Force Base in Mianwali in Punjab in the wee hours of Saturday morning, people familiar with the developments told CNN-News18. The Pakistan army personnel present at the air base killed nine terrorists, according to a press release published by the Director General-Inter-Services Public Relations (DG-ISPR).
The Pakistan DG-ISPR in a fresh press release published later in the day said the combing operation was completed and nine terrorists were killed. “Combing and clearance operation at PAF Training Air Base Mianwali has been concluded and all nine terrorists have been sent to hell,” the DG-ISPR said in its release. In a separate release published hours after the attack, it said it had ‘cornered/isolated’ a few terrorists.
People familiar with the developments told CNN-News18 that several fighter planes have been damaged in the attack.
The Pakistan army denied that fighter planes were damaged, and said that those fighter planes were already grounded. “No damage has been done to any of the PAF’s functional operational assets, while only some damage was done to three already phased out non-operational aircraft during the attack,” it said in its new press release.
“The successful operation was launched by security forces to eliminate any potential threat in the surrounding area following the cowardly and failed terrorist attack on the base this morning,” the DG-ISPR further added.
Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar commended the security forces for thwarting the terror attack. “The valiant Pakistan Air Force has once again proved its mettle by thwarting a cowardly terrorist attack in Mianwali. Any attempt to undermine our security will meet with unwavering resistance. The nation stands with you and we salute your courage and resolve,” the caretaker prime minister said in a post on X.
The Pakistan Centre for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) in October highlighted that Pakistani armed personnel have lost at least 386 security personnel to terror attacks in the first nine months of 2023, marking an eight-year high.
At least 445 people lost their lives and 440 suffered injuries from over 190 terrorist attacks and counter-terror operations in the third quarter of 2023.
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