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Three militants were killed before they entered the base while
the others had been cornered before the clearance operation
began, the military said in a statement. It did not mention any
casualties amongst security personnel.
The early Saturday attack startled residents living close by
when volleys of gunfire broke the morning silence.
"I woke up at around 3 a.m. after I heard massive gun shots
which continued till around 7 a.m.," Zeeshan Niazi, a resident
of Mianwali, told Reuters.
The military said nine militants had been killed in the attack
on the Pakistan Air Force Training Airbase Mianwali. An earlier
statement said that six militants were involved in the attack.
"No damage has been done to any of the Pakistan Air Force's
functional operational assets, while only some damage was done
to three already phased out non-operational aircraft during the
attack," the military statement said. It earlier said a fuel
tanker had also been damaged in the attack.
"Due to the swift and effective response by the troops, (the
attack) has been foiled and thwarted, ensuring the safety and
security of personnel and assets," the statement said.
Islamist militant group Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan (TJP) claimed
responsibility for the attack in a statement sent to journalists
by its spokesperson.
TJP came to the fore only this year and little is known about
the group, which has carried out a string of high-profile
attacks in the country, including killing 12 soldiers at a
Pakistani military base in the southwestern province of
Balochistan in July.
(Reporting by Gibran Peshimam; Additional reporting by Saud
Mehsud in Dera Ismail Khan and Mubasher Bukhari in Lahore;
Editing by William Mallard and Jamie Freed)
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