Pakistan has stepped up its security after details on how Taliban members attacked Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport that left 18 people dead.

A six-hour gun battle ensued between the10 members of the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and a team of army units, police, paramilitary rangers and Airport Security Force (ASF) commandoes.

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The terrorists, posing as ASF personnel, executed the attacked at the airport late Sunday night, but were all killed in the gun battle.

According to an Inter Services Public Relations spokesman, all ten terrorists were killed in the violent encounter. The spokesman also said that the terrorists were unsuccessful in damaging any airport installations or aircrafts.

After the encounter, the TTP took responsibility for the assault that claimed the lives of 18 security guards and civilian staff. The terrorist group warned that Taliban fighters would launch a series of attacks against the Pakistani government.

Abdullah Bahar Mehsud, a TTP senior commander, said the attack was intended to avenge the death of their former leader Hakimullah Mehsud during a government sanctioned drone attack last year.

Shahidullah Shahid, TTP’s spokesman, said that the airport attack is a message for the government to abstain from using diplomacy and peace talks as tools of politics and war.

Pakistan’s Press Secretary Mohyudddin Wani said that the way the Taliban executed its plan and attack was designed to bring down Pakistan’s aviation industry.

“Their intention was an all-out spectacular attack, eliminating 20 aircraft and killing more than 200 passengers,” Wani said.

Wani said that the ASF together with the other government defenders were able to put a stop on the assault. Government forces were able to tactically drive the terrorists into a cargo area to avoid further damage.

However, the commando assault launched by the terrorists is just the beginning and puts into question the Pakistani government’s ability to defend itself against terror attacks.

Reports pointed out that TTP members easily infiltrated the Karachi airport with ease, which showed a major intelligence failure on the Pakistani military’s part.

In one Telegraph interview, a senior aviation official described what transpired before and during the attack.

The official said two groups who were wearing light blue uniforms entered from different locations close to an old terminal typically used for VIP passengers and cargoes. He described the terrorists to be Uzbek and Chechen nationals.

He said all of them wore matching trainers that are typical signals of a Taliban attack, meaning they came very equipped for their assault.

TagsTehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, Jinnah International Airport, Karachi, Karachi Airport attack