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 The attack on the Pathankot air force base in Punjab, a rare
targeting of an Indian military installation outside the disputed
northern region of Kashmir, threatens to undermine a tentative thaw
in relations with Pakistan.
Indian security forces have killed four militants involved in the
attack, but gunfire could still be heard at the base on the third
day of operations to secure the area, and it was unclear how many
militants remained at large, if any.
"Operations to eliminate two more terrorists, possibly, are in the
final stages," Maj. Gen. Dushyant Singh, of India's
counter-terrorism force, the National Security Guard, told a joint
security news briefing at the air base.
"It is likely to take a long time," he added.
Indian security forces were still trying to clear militants holed up
in a building that served as living quarters for air force
personnel, army Brig. Anupinder Bevli told the briefing.
 Air assets at the base, including aircraft and helicopters, were
secure, and there had been no collateral damage or civilian
casualties, he added.
Officials have given conflicting accounts on whether the attackers
were still active on the base since Home Minister Rajnath Singh
declared on Saturday evening that they had been "neutralized".
The reluctance of officials to declare the mission complete appeared
to reflect an abundance of caution until all the attackers' bodies
had been accounted for. The sound of continuing gunfire from the
base added confusion to the picture.
Earlier on Monday, a senior federal government official had said two
militants hiding in the administrative block of the base had been
killed on Sunday, but authorities had yet to recover the bodies.
"A total of six terrorists have been killed, but every inch of the
air base has to be secured before we call off the operation," said
the official in New Delhi, who requested anonymity.
Thousands of police were scanning hotels, markets and forested areas
in the city of Pathankot around the base, to ensure no more
militants were hiding there, said police official Manoj Kumar.
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"Our biggest concern is to protect public spaces," Kumar said. "The
militants who entered the air base must have a local network
coordinating with them."
Manish Mehta, an Indian army spokesman, said the military was
working at a "very fast pace" to defuse live hand grenades and
gather the remains of the dead militants.
"The air base is large and we have been working all night to ensure
that the base is totally in our control," Mehta said.
Military trucks were seen entering and leaving the walled compound
with helicopters flying over it on Monday.
The attack came about a week after a surprise visit by Indian Prime
Minister Narendra Modi to his Pakistani counterpart Nawaz Sharif,
the first by an Indian premier in 11 years.
Officials said the attack bore the hallmarks of previous suspected
assaults by Pakistan-based militant groups, underscoring the
fragility of recent efforts to revive talks between the
nuclear-armed neighbors.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility.
Pakistan has condemned the attack and said it wanted to continue to
build on the goodwill created by the impromptu meeting between Modi
and Sharif last month.
(Additional reporting by Krista Mahr; Writing by Rupam Jain Nair and
Krista Mahr; Editing by Douglas Busvine and Clarence Fernandez)
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