16-hour siege of Mehran airbase came to an end
16-hour siege of Mehran airbaseu00a0 came to an endPakistani security forces yesterday retook control of a naval base in Karachi that had been under siege by militants for 17 hours, but the brazen, commando-style attack renewed disturbing questions about the military's ability to defend sensitive installations, including its nuclear arsenal.
Siege over: Smoke and flames belch out at Mehran after the attack.
Pic/AFPA team of 10 to 15 militants armed with rocket launchers, AK-47s and hand grenades stormed the Mehran Naval Station late on Sunday, destroyed two US-supplied maritime surveillance aircraft at the base and then engaged Pakistani navy commandos and soldiers in a pitched firefight that ended last afternoon.
The 17 foreigners, including 11 Chinese and six Americans, trapped during the 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." Navy spokesman Irfan ul-Haq said 12 commandos and soldiers were killed and another 14 were injured.u00a0
