Troops kill 3 militants, foiling attack on an airbase in Punjab province, Pakistani military says

ISLAMABAD (AP) — In the early hours of Saturday, a group of militants launched an attack on a training air base in eastern Punjab province. Pakistan’s military confirmed that three attackers were killed in the incident. Despite the damage inflicted on three grounded aircrafts and a fuel tanker, the military’s “swift and effective response” ensured the safety of personnel and assets at the Mianwali Training Air Base. The area is currently being cleared through a joint clearance and combing operation.

Friday saw multiple security incidents in Pakistan, with fourteen soldiers killed in an ambush on a military convoy in southwest Baluchistan province and three individuals losing their lives in a bomb and gun attack on a police vehicle. No individual or group has claimed responsibility for the attack on the air base, but suspicion is likely to fall on the Pakistani Taliban, who have increased their attacks on security forces since 2022. It is believed that the group, which has been living openly in Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover of the country in 2021, has grown more emboldened.

In response to a previous attack on an army-run school in 2014 that resulted in the deaths of over 150 people, most of whom were children, Pakistan’s army launched extensive operations against militants in the former tribal regions along the Afghan border. As a result, all seven tribal regions have been transformed into fully controlled districts, with the army claiming to have cleared the area of both local and foreign militants. However, sporadic attacks continue to occur, leading to concerns that the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, also known as the local Taliban, are regrouping.

It is worth noting that the TTP or Pakistani Taliban is allied with the Afghan Taliban, a separate group that took control of Afghanistan in 2021 during the final stages of the United States and NATO troops’ withdrawal.