Militants attack major Pakistan air base; 8 killed

Islamist militants armed with rocket-propelled grenades and automatic weapons fought their way into one of Pakistan's largest air bases on Thursday, the air force said, in a brazen challenge to the nuclear-armed country's powerful military.   

Only one aircraft was damaged, an air force spokesman said, adding that the Minhas air base at Kamra, in central Punjab province, did not house nuclear weapons. "No air base is a nuclear air base in Pakistan," he said.   

A gunbattle raged for hours after the attack started. Commandos were called in to reinforce and and police armored personnel carriers could be seen heading into the base.   

Seven militants and one soldier were killed, the spokesman said.   

The overnight assault cast doubts over official assertions that military operations had severely weakened militants waging a violent campaign to topple the U.S.-backed government and impose strict Islamic rule.   

Security forces opened fire on militants strapped with suicide bombing vests as they approached aircraft hangars, prompting other militants to fire rocket-propelled grenades from outside the base's walls, said the air force spokesman.   

Base commander Air Commodore Muhammad Azam, who led the operation against the attackers, was wounded, but is in stable condition, said the spokesman.   

It was not immediately clear if the attack was beaten back but a Reuters reporter who reached Kamra in the morning did not hear any gunfire. 

REUTERS