A major blast was heard in the holed up area of terrorists at the Pathankot air base on Monday even as combing operations by security forces continued almost 60 hours after terrorists launched an attack on the frontline facility in Punjab.
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At least seven troops and four militants have been killed in the fighting.
Operations to “eliminate” two remaining militants were “possibly…in the final stages”, a National Security Guard official said at a press conference at the Pathankot airbase, near the border with Pakistan, where on Saturday a number of militants stormed the secure military site.
A security personnel asks people to move away from the area outside the Indian Air Force (IAF) base at Pathankot in Punjab, India, January 3, 2016.
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.
Mopping operations were in progress on the third day after the base was attacked by terrorists on Saturday morning.
As well as the seven Indian security personnel killed, 22 had been wounded.
“By accusing Pakistan for every attack, India neither succeeded in past to malign the Kashmir freedom struggle nor will it get anything in future through malicious propaganda”, the UJC spokesperson said. Officials gave no other details about the situation at the base.
Indian leaders had already praised the armed forces for their heroism in Saturday’s shootout, with Modi saying they did not let the “enemies of humanity” who attacked the base succeed.
SSP R K Bakshi said four suspected militants were killed in the battle.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
“Given the magnitude of the operation of the air base, the operation will continue to be concluded till we are able to fully render the base safe”, he said.
The terrorists who attacked the IAF base in Pathankot came in groups of four and two and the bigger group was ticked off by their Pakistani handler as to why they have fallen behind in reaching the target when their accomplices had already entered the complex.
Pathankot houses dozens of jet fighters and is located just 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the Pakistan border. Reports now suggest that the attack may affect talks scheduled this month between India and Pakistan foreign secretaries.
The two leaders also held an unscheduled meeting at the Paris climate change talks last month.
S.D. Muni said the government is under tremendous pressure from both within the ruling party, opposition parties and civil society to cancel the dialogue, but he feels that New Delhi’s options are limited.
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The attack comes a week after Modi met with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during an unannounced stopover in Lahore on his way back from Kabul.
