Taliban 16-hour siege of Pakistan's Mehran airbase ends; 14 killed

KARACHI: Taliban's 16-hour brazen siege of Pakistan Navy's key Mehran airbase here came to an end after the elite commandos backed by hundreds of paramilitary personnel and helicopters shot dead four heavily armed militants after an intense battle, while two escaped.

But before they were silenced, the handful of Taliban militants, wearing suicide vests, destroyed the Pakistan's two front line P3C Orion US acquired maritime spy planes and killed 10 security men including an officer and some firemen.

Three weeks after the killing of al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden, the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack which they described as "suicide operation" to avenge his death.

The 17 foreigners, including 11 Chinese and six Americans, who were trapped during the night and day long gun battle, were also safely rescued, Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik announced to newsmen here saying that the "the siege has been brought to an end."

Malik said those killed included four firemen, three Special Service Group (SSG) personnel and two rangers while another 15 officials were injured.

"Reports that the militants had taken foreigners as hostages were all incorrect," he said.

Initial reports had said that a group of 15-20 militants had stormed into the sprawling naval complex last night in the worst assault on a military base since the Army Headquarters was besieged in October 2009 in Rawalpindi.

But Malik clarified that the security forces had killed four militants and bodies of three had been recovered.