PESHAWAR: A suicide car bomber and terrorists armed with rockets and explosives targeted Baacha Khan International Airport late on Saturday, killing four people, wounding dozens more and forcing the airport to close, officials said.
The unprecedented attack on the airport in Peshawar sparked a prolonged volley of gunfire as army officials launched a search operation, witnesses said.
Television footage showed a vehicle with a smashed windscreen, another damaged car, bushes on fire and what appeared to be a large breach in a wall.
Officials said that five terrorists have also been killed and one injured.
“Four suicide jackets have been defused... Joint Operation consisting of all security agencies is in progress to clear the area,” Pakistan Air Force (PAF) said in a statement.
The banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) claimed responsibility for the arrack.
“... One of the attackers was wearing a suicide vest and was driving a car. He rammed his car in the outer wall of the airport (compound),” said Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain.
“Another attacker wearing a suicide vest blew himself up prematurely, killing three of them (the attackers),” he added.
“Rocket launchers were also fired. The attackers failed to reach the target. The dead bodies of the four terrorists are in police custody. Both Peshawar airport and the attached air base are safe,” he said.
“The modus operandi of the terrorists was to first target the airport with rockets followed by gunfire… then they rammed the explosive-laden vehicle into the main airport building but their designs have been frustrated,” the minister said.
Administrative official Javed Khan Marwat confirmed that rockets were used in the attack.
“Two of them landed inside the airport. A third hit the outer wall of the airport and a nearby vehicle, which killed two people inside the vehicle. Two others landed on a residential area, and dozens of people were wounded,” he said.
He told state television PTV that “three terrorists and one suicide bomber” were killed in the assault, without providing further details.
Farhad Khan, a spokesman for Khyber Teaching Hospital near the airport, said four people died and that 50 wounded people had been brought in after the attack.
Doctor Umar Ayub confirmed the death toll.
Pervez George, spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority, confirmed that the airport had been closed, but said there had been no damage to the airport building or terminals.
“All Pakistani airports at this time are on red alert,” he told a TV channel.
“All flights to Peshawar have been diverted to Islamabad and Lahore,” he added. The lone commercial plane inside the airport was also saved from any damage, an airport official said.
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