Rocket attack at Peshawar airport claims five lives

At least three people were killed and more than two dozen injured after Bacha Khan International Airport came under attack here on Saturday

The airport was sealed after rockets and bullets rained on it form all sides as it was hard to nail the location of the attackers, however according to unofficial reports the rockets were fired from the tribal area.

According to initial unconfirmed reports, few continued blasts and repeated gun fires were heard in University Town near Peshawar airport on Jamrod Road this evening.

At the start of blasts and firing, it was not known that how those blasts occurred but later on it was revealed that some unknown terrorists launched mortars and opened fire, with breaks, at the air port.

Total five mortars were launched from a distant place; three of those landed in University Town while two inside the airport on main runway. All airplanes remained unhurt but the runway was destroyed completely in the attack.

Many nearby homes were partially damaged and few residents sustained injuries in the attack. Immediately after the attack, the local residents were frightened and they started to move away from the area to take shelter.

The injured and dead bodies of attack victims were moved to Khyber Teaching Hospital, where sources confirmed casualties. Many more injured have been reported in critical condition.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Senior Minister Bashir Ahmed Bilour visited the site and informed while talking to media that all action took place inside the airport.

Later on, Bilour informed that rockets and mortars were launched from a faraway place and no terrorist succeeded to enter inside the airport. He said that one rocket landed near Peshawar Intermediate Board’s building. Bilour also confirmed that all assets at the airport are safe and sound.

Peshawar Airport has been completely sealed while security forces and bomb disposal squad are currently busy to search the entire locality to locate explosives and terrorists.

Firing was still underway with breaks while high flames were being witnessed from long distance near attacked areas, till last report received.

A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) told media that all the arrivals have been diverted to Islamabad and Lahore airports. He said that only a commercial aircraft was present at the airport when the attack took place.

The spokesman added that passengers who have been waiting in the airport for their scheduled flight to Jeddah were safely shifted to lounge.

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Posted by Web Desk on Dec 15 2012. Filed under National, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.