US condemns Pathankot terror attack

Delhi Police sleuths interrogating a dismissed Indian Air Force official, who was arrested from Punjab's Bhatinda, have so far not found any connection between the information he allegedly shared with a suspected ISI-backed operative and the terror attack in Pathankot on Saturday. According to reports, the number of Indian security personnel who lost their lives as a result of Saturday's attack has risen to seven, with three more succumbing to their injuries in hospital.

Terrorists who could not digest the "good atmosphere" created by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent Lahore stopover engineered yesterday's attack, he told reporters here.

With the obvious intention of destroying fighter jets and attack helicopters housed there, the group of terrorists in army fatigues attempted to storm the base which is barely 35 kms from the global border with Pakistan but could not penetrate deep.

At least three IAF security personnel, including an IAF Garud commando, were killed and four others were injured in the attack that started around 3.30 a.m. The counter offensive lasted over 15 hours.

A home ministry official said several blasts had been heard in the facility but could not confirm reports that gunmen were still at large.

Indian security forces stand guard near a road barrier outside an Indian air force base in Pathankot, 430 kilometers (267 miles) north of New Delhi, India, Saturday, Jan. 2, 2016.

The breaching of the base's defences has raised questions about lax security on the global border in Punjab, which is a known route for drug smugglers and is less closely guarded than the disputed frontier running through Kashmir.

IAF helicopters could be seen flying over the base and nearby areas through the night and since early morning on Sunday to assist ground forces in the search and combing operations.

The US on Sunday condemned the terror attack on an Indian Air Force base by Pakistani terrorists and urged all countries in the region to work together to disrupt and dismantle terrorist network.

Five terrorists were killed, Home Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted after the end of the operation. Rebels in India's portion of Kashmir have been fighting since 1989 for independence or merger with Pakistan. This was one of the chilling exchanges between one of the five terrorists and his mother before he was gunned down by Indian security forces in Pathankot on Saturday. The three attackers then killed four policemen and three civilians before being shot dead by security forces.

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