PESHAWAR: At least five people were killed while 25 others were killed when some unidentified armed militants fired rockets into the Bacha Khan International Airport on Saturday evening, the outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack. Dispatch News Desk (DND) reported on 15 December, 2012.
All the five attackers were killed during an exchange of fire with the security forces. One of the attackers, wearing a suicide jacket, blew himself up inside the airport.
According to police officials, the militants armed with suicide jackets, an explosives-laden vehicle, rocket launchers and automatic weapons stormed the Bacha Khan International Airport, located adjacent to the base of the Pakistan Air Force, at around 8 pm and tried to enter the airport building.
They said five rockets were fired, including two that hit residential areas close to the airport. A house and two cars were also damaged in an area close to the airport. Peshawar airport is surrounded by congested residential localities. Militants also opened indiscriminate fire after the rocket attacks and the exchange of fire continued for around two hours.
Security officials said the militants simultaneously fired rockets and rammed the explosives-laden car into the boundary wall of the airport.
“Most of the casualties happened due to the huge blast caused by the explosives-laden car,” said a security official.
DND
