Peshawar, October 10: Four gunmen and several troops have been killed as an attack on Pakistan’s army HQ outside the capital Islamabad was foiled, the military says.
Troops engaged the gunmen after they tried to enter the heavily armed complex in Rawalpindi. An intense gun battle followed.
The attack follows a series of bombings in north-western Pakistan. On Friday at least 49 died in a blast in Peshawar.
The attacks come as the army prepares a major operation against the Taliban.
The BBC’s Aleem Maqbool in Islamabad says that in recent days Taliban positions in the tribal areas have been bombed by the air force, amid speculation that the army’s offensive there is soon to be intensified.
No-one has yet claimed responsibility for the latest attack, but the Taliban has been threatening to carry out attacks unless operations against the militant group were stopped.
High-profile targets
Police official Mohammed Jalil told AP news agency that gunmen drove up to the army compound in a white van just before midday local time (0600 GMT).
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They took up positions and fired on the compound, security officials said. One of them threw a grenade.
Roads to the area were sealed off and at least one helicopter was hovering over the compound, witnesses said.
Later the military reported that the attack had been repelled.
“The situation is under control … all the gunmen have been killed”, Maj-Gen Athar Abbas told local TV.
“I can’t give you the exact casualties inflicted on our guards but four of them at the first checkpost were martyred.”
Islamist militants have carried out a number of attacks against high-profile, high-security targets in recent years.
In March this year gunmen opened fire on a bus carrying the Sri Lankan cricket team in the city of Lahore. Six policemen and a driver were killed and several of the team were injured.
In the same month, dozens of people were killed when a police training centre on the outskirts of the city was occupied by gunmen.
–Agencies