IMAN Chairman condemns Jinnah Airport attack
Monday, 9 June 2014
Pakistan attack 'just the beginning,' Taliban claims
USA TODAY
The Taliban claimed responsibility for a siege on Karachi's Jinnah International Airport overnight Monday. Ten terrorists killed 18 people before being killed themselves.
The militant group said the attack was in retaliation for drone strikes on villages in Pakistan's troubled northwest border region. The Taliban vowed to continue a campaign of terror.
"This is just the beginning," Shahidullah Shahid, spokesman for the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) told the Express Tribune, a Pakistani daily.
Ten men armed with machine guns, grenades and rocket launchers stormed the busy airport late Monday at a terminal for cargo and VIP passengers. Some of the attackers wore suicide vests.
According to the Pakistani army, 28 people, including the 10 terrorists, died in the attack. The victims were 11 airport security personnel, two Pakistani rangers who were part of an internal security force, one police officer and four Pakistan International Airlines officials. In addition, 24 people were injured.
"Seven terrorists were killed by security forces, while three blew themselves up during the fight," Maj. Gen. Rizwan Akhtar, director general of the rangers, said in a statement. Some of the attackers were disguised as airport security personnel, Akhtar said.
Flights were suspended, and the airport was shut temporarily as plumes of smoke rose from the terminal. Maj. Gen. Asim Bajwa, a military spokesman, said the airport would resume operations Monday.
The Pakistani Taliban and other associated militant groups, which have increased their presence in Karachi, Pakistan's biggest city and its main commercial hub, said the attack was in retaliation for a U.S. drone strike that killed Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud late last year.
The airport attack coincides with a coordinated suicide bombing in Baluchistan province in which 23 Shiite Muslims were killed after returning from a pilgrimage from Iran, which the province borders. There was also an attack on a military complex near the Rawalpindi district in northern Pakistan.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif started a tentative peace process with the Taliban this year, but talks have broken down. The government has resumed airstrikes against the militants in the North Waziristan area.
Locals in Karachi and elsewhere said the attacks highlight the poor security situation and the ineffectiveness of the government to contain militants.
"One thinks that the airport is a place where you can feel safe and secure, but unfortunately, it is as unsafe as the roads of Karachi. We are not safe anywhere in Karachi — not even in our homes," said Usama Ahmed, 26. "We all are the victims of yesterday's event, we all have lost close ones … or have family friends who have lost relatives."
"The government and the military should be ashamed of itself. What excuse can you give for such a security lapse?" said Sania Iqra, 31, of Karachi. "And this isn't the first time we have seen this in Karachi ... so what exactly is safe now?"
Condemning the attack, IMAN Chairman, Ribal Al-Assad said:
"I wholeheartedly condemn this horrific and brutal act of terrorism - this was a chilling attack calculated to cause a tremendous amount of damage.
This is what extremism breeds, unprovoked assaults against innocent people - there is absolutely no place for extremist ideology of any kind in todays world.
We must not let the Taliban's 'campaign of terror' continue, much more needs to be done to bring the individuals who incite such violence to justice.
My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families at this difficult time."
