2015 Camp Badaber attack

2015 Peshawar Airbase attack
Part of series of insurgent attacks in Pakistan
Date18 September 2015
LocationPAF Camp Badaber, Badaber
Peshawar District, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Result

Attack foiled

  • Militants Killed
  • Military installations safe
Belligerents

 Pakistan

 TTP (Khorasani group)
Casualties and losses
3 Soldiers killed
22 PAF personnel killed(unarmed)
25 injured(unarmed)[1]		 Killed in Action:
14 militants
4 civilians killed[1]
Location of Camp Badaber in Pakistan

On 18 September 2015, 14 militants reportedly "entered from Afghanistan" and tried to storm a Pakistan Air Force base in Badaber, Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan killing 29 Pakistanis including a Pakistan Army's Quick Response Force's commander Captain Asfand Yar.[2] The attack was "foiled" by Pakistani military and all militants were killed in state's retaliation, according to official claims.[3][4] It was the first time that the militants came with a new strategy; to engage the Pakistani military in a long-term battle with excessive ammunition.[1] PAF Camp Badaber is located just about 48 kilometres (30 mi) east of Afghan border.

Background

In June 2014, a joint military offensive was conducted by the Pakistan Armed Forces against various groups in North Waziristan which has been the site of a wave of violence. The military offensive, Operation Zarb-e-Azb, was launched in the wake of the 8 June attack on Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, for which the TTP claimed responsibility. It is part of the ongoing war in North-West Pakistan in which more than 3,000 have been killed so far,[5] and, according to the Army, almost 90% of North Waziristan has been cleared.[6]

Base

See also: Camp Badaber

The Camp Badaber also known as Peshawar Air Station is being used as a PAF training centre. Located in Badaber, a remote area about 4 miles (6.4 km) south of the city of Peshawar, it was a former Central Intelligence Agency[7]-United States Air Force Security Service listening post, used by the 6937th Communications Group from July 17, 1959[8] until January 7, 1970,[9] when the facility was formally closed.[10]

Attack

According to Director General Inter-Services Public Relations Asim Bajwa, the attack began in the early hours of 18 September 2015, when 14 militants armed with automatic weapons, automatic rifles and RPGs arrived on Inqalab Road, and after dismounted from their vehicle near the gates of the PAF base Badaber used RPG's to breach the gates and gain entry into the base. PAF Security forces stationed inside the base engaged the terrorists. After the militants managed to enter inside the base, then split in to two groups, with one group heading towards the administrative area of the base while the other group headed towards technical area. Heavy contingent of security personnel were called after an intense gunfight erupted between the terrorists and the security personnel. Firefight took place within the small area which also housed the base’s mosque, which became a target for the attackers, and they rushed in and opened fire on the people present for morning prayers which caused casualties of at least 29 people which including 23 from Pakistan Air Force, three from Pakistan Army and three civilians.[5][11]

Aftermath

Following the attack, a search operation and aerial surveillance of the base was conducted for hidden terrorists and around 15 people were arrested during the search operation.[5]

Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif visited the wounded at CMH Peshawar and held meetings with Corps Commander Lieutenant-General Hidayatur Rehman and Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman to discuss the terrorist attack.[5]

Responsibility

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) splinter group Khorasani group claimed responsibility for the attack.[2] The attack was planned and controlled from Afghanistan. It was also reported that the attacking militants came from Afghanistan.[12] DG ISPR Asim Bajwa said, "The attackers came from Afghanistan and the whole foul play was planned in the neighbouring country. This attack was being executed through direct coordination from Afghanistan as well."[13]

Reactions

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "PAF base attackers wanted to engage troops in long gun battle". Dawn. Sep 21, 2015. Retrieved Sep 21, 2015.
  2. 1 2 "At least 29 killed, including army captain, as militants attack PAF base in Peshawar". Express Tribune. 18 September 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  3. ↑ "Gunmen attack Pakistan air force base in Peshawar". BBC News. 18 September 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  4. ↑ "Army captain among 29 killed in TTP-claimed attack on PAF camp in Peshawar". Dawn. 18 September 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "Army captain among 29 killed in TTP-claimed attack on PAF camp in Peshawar". Dawn. 18 September 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  6. ↑ "Zarb-e-Azb: Army says 90% of North Waziristan cleared". Express Tribune. 16 November 2014. Retrieved 17 December 2014.
  7. ↑ Abida Ejaz (2010). "Exploitation in the name of religion: The case of Pakistan". In Bogusława Bednarczyk. Religia a współczesne stosunki międzynarodowe. Krakow Educational Association. p. 209. ISBN 978-8-3757-1101-1. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
  8. ↑ "Document 38 – Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume E–7, Documents on South Asia, 1969–1972 – Historical Documents – Office of the Historian". state.gov. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  9. ↑ "New Page 1". 6937th.org. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
  10. ↑ History of the base during American use. Peshawar Air Station Alumni Association.
  11. ↑ "PAF Badaber camp attack was planned, controlled from Afghanistan: DG ISPR". Dawn. 18 September 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  12. ↑ "PAF base attack planned in Afghanistan: DG ISPR". Express Tribune. 18 September 2015. Retrieved 18 September 2015.
  13. ↑ "Badaber attack planned, controlled from Afghanistan: ISPR". Daily Times. Sep 18, 2015. Retrieved Sep 18, 2015.
  14. ↑ "State Department Spokesperson says no country has suffered more at the hands of terrorists and extremists than Pakistan". Radio Pakistan. Sep 19, 2015. Retrieved Sep 19, 2015.
  15. 1 2 "US, UN term attack on PAF camp a 'reprehensible act'". The Express Tribune. Sep 19, 2015. Retrieved Sep 19, 2015.

33°57′28.38″N 71°34′25.15″E / 33.9578833°N 71.5736528°E / 33.9578833; 71.5736528Coordinates: 33°57′28.38″N 71°34′25.15″E / 33.9578833°N 71.5736528°E / 33.9578833; 71.5736528

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