Taliban disguised as police in Pakistan airport siege leave at least 26 dead

A spokesman said that the attack is the Taliban’s revenge for a US drone strike last year that killed its leader.

16:13 09 June 2014

At least 10 gunmen, some wearing military uniforms, launched an attack on Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport around midnight at the end of the weekend. 

 

Based on reports, the gunmen shot their way into the facility killing many in an attack that ultimately left at least 26 people dead – it's believed that some of that figure is made up by the gunmen themselves. It has been suggested that they had been trying to hijack a plane. 

 

A spokesman for the Taliban, Shahidullah Shahid said that the attack was launched in response to US drone strike that was carried out in November last year which killed its leader. 

 

He told Reuters News Agency: “The main goal of this attack was to damage the government, including by hijacking planes and destroying state installations. This was just an example of what we are capable of and there is more to come. The government should be ready for even worse attacks.”

 

The recent Taliban attack is now presenting a new challenge for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, whose has been repeatedly criticised for his failure to establish a ceasefire with the militants. 

 

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the prime minister, Tariq Azim, said that based on initial investigation, several militants were foreign. He said they may have been Chechen or Uzbek.