Reports
indicate at least four terrorists have been killed in a gun battle with
the armed forces at the Pathankot Air Force Station on the
Jammu-Pathankot highway. The BSF and Punjab Police have thrown a cordon
around the air base.
Two IAF personnel have also been killed.
According to initial reports, the incident is being linked to the missing car of a Punjab SP on Friday morning.
The attack comes days after PM Narendra Modi's unscheduled visit to Pakistan.
It
is the second big terror attack in Punjab within less than a year as
last year three militants stormed a police station in Diana Nagar before
being eliminated after 12 hour gun battle.
Live Updates:
12:30 pm: We are now getting reports of aerial firing by Air Force choppers at the site.
11:55 am:
ANI is reporting that a Defense Service Corps jawan has succumbed to
injuries, taking the death toll to 3 among the security forces.
11:45 am: The terror attack should be condemned outright, says Congress's Ahmed Patel
11:30 am: "Punjab
shares a long border with Pakistan. Terrorism trying to enter Punjab
once again but BJP will deal with it strictly," Punjab BJP chief Kamal
Sharma
11:10 am: A team of NIA personnel have reached Pathankot: PTI
11:05 am: Press Trust of India says a second personnel of the IAF has been killed.
11:00 am: The terrorists are suspected to belong to Jaish-e-Mohammed, the terror outfit from Pakistan.
11:15 am: Sound of three grenade blasts heard inside airbase.
10:55 am: Sounds of firing from within the airbase again.
10:50 am: Pakistan is our neighbour and we want peace, but any attack on India will get a befitting response: Rajnath Singh tells ANI
10:40 am:
Home Minister Rajnath Singh told ANI that he was happy the security
forces gave a befitting response to terrorists in Punjab. "The country
is proud of them," he said.
10:25 am:
We are now getting confirmation that at least one IAF personnel has
been killed in the attack. Some others are injured as well.
10:15 am: Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar will hold a high-level meeting with officials.
9:25 am: Local police in the area have been telling people not to come out of their homes.
9:20 am:
The SUV that was snatched from the police officer on Friday was found
in a Himachal village 1 km away from the perimeter of the Air Force
base.
9:10 am:
80 per cent of the Air Force base has been sanitised. One shot was
fired from an administrative block at 7:45 am. Security forces are now
believed to be closing into this block.
There are 12 entry points into the base.
9:00 am: We are getting reports that four terrorists have been killed in the attack.
8:20 am: Former J&K CM Omar Abdullah says the attack is the first major challenge to PM Modi's Pakistan gambit.
"From
past experience I'm sure it emerge that these militants crossed over
within the last few hours with the airbase as a specific target," he
wrote in a tweet.
8:00 am:
Meanwhile, officials at the highest levels have convened a meeting at
the Air Force headquarters in New Delhi. The situation is being
monitored, ANI reports.
7:50 am: Security has been tightened in Ludhiana and surrounding areas.
7:45 am: Surinder Singh, SHO, Sarabha Nagar tells news agency ANI that the entire state of Punjab is on high alert after the attack.
7:30 am: We are getting reports that NSG and Garud Commando Force are engaged with terrorists.
7:15 am: Early in July, the Army had sounded alerts about possible attacks in border areas following the attack in Gurdaspur.
6. 44 am:
Helicopters also dispatched to the area for assistance in operation: DIG (Border) Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh to ANI on #Pathankot attack
— ANI (@ANI_news) January 2, 2016
6.24 am:
#Pathankot attack update: 2 terrorists have been killed, 4-5 terrorists stormed base in Indian army fatigues, encounter on
— ANI (@ANI_news) January 2, 2016
5.48 am:
Pathankot Air Force base attack: 1 terrorist has been killed, fierce gunbattle underway between security forces and terrorists
— ANI (@ANI_news) January 2, 2016
5.36am:
FLASH:
Terrorists open fire in Pathankot Air Force Station, gunbattle between
security forces and attackers underway. More details awaited
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