Daily Mail:
- Taliban kill 1 in attack on Pakistani air base linked to the country’s nuclear program
- Heavy battle leaves insurgents dead and parts of the base in flames
- U.S told of Pakistani plans to launch operation against Taliban in the ‘near future’
PUBLISHED: 09:58 EST, 16 August 2012 | UPDATED: 11:14 EST, 16 August 2012
A team of nine Taliban militants who attacked a Pakistani air force base in Kamra in the northwest of the country have been killed during a heavy battle before dawn today.
The insurgents also killed a security official and left parts of the base, which is believed to be linked to the country’s nuclear program, destroyed by flames.
Hours later in northern Pakistan, gunmen forced 20 Shiite Muslims off buses, lined them up and killed them.
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Police officers make way for a firetruck at it leaves an air force base in Kamra, in northwest Pakistan after a militant attack before dawn today
The separate incidents emphasize two daunting challenges the nuclear-armed country faces: a still-potent threat from the Pakistani Taliban despite numerous military offensives against their sanctuaries along the Afghan border and sectarian violence in a Sunni majority country where Shiite Muslims often feel under attack.
While the Pakistani Taliban have carried out hundreds of bombings and other attacks throughout the country, raids against military bases are uncommon.
Militants armed with guns and rocket launchers stormed the key Pakistani air force base sparking hours of heavy clashes that killed eight people
The large air base, located only about 40 kilometers (25 miles) northwest of Islamabad, hosts a variety of fighter jets, including F-16s, and contains a factory that makes aircraft and other weapons systems.
Some experts suspect the base could be linked to Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal because of the weapons development there and the presence of jets that could be used to deploy bombs.
The army has denied the base has any links, but the nuclear program’s secret nature makes independent evaluation difficult.
Pakistan witnesses a suicide bombing attack on every 6th day on average. What a country. It is land of the pure. pak means pure. Pure evil.