Pathankot: At least two more terrorists were discovered at Pathankot Air Base here as security forces continued their operations for the second day with military casualties mounting to seven including a Lieutenant Colonel of the NSG who died on Sunday.
Lt Col Niranjan, a member of the NSG’s Bomb Disposal Squad and a Kerala resident, died after he succumbed to injuries which he sustained while he was trying to retrieve a live grenade from the body of a dead terrorist at the scene of the terror attack Saturday as part of the combing operations that continued through the night. Four other security men were also injured in the explosion.
Three Defence Security Corps (DSC) personnel also succumbed to injuries in the hospital here during the intervening 2nd/3rd Dec night. A Garud commando and two members of the DSC were killed in the gunbattle in which four Pakistan-based terrorists had also been eliminated during the gunbattle at the airbase, located barely 35 km from the Indo-Pak border.
“We are sure that still there are at least two more terrorists as firing has come from two different places. But we are not sure whether there are some more. We will come to know the number of terrorists only after the completion of the operation and body count,” Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi told a press conference in Delhi.
The comments by Mehrishi came a day after Home Minister Rajnath Singh tweeted saying the operation had been completed with the killing of five terrorists. Singh later deleted his tweet.
Mehrishi said four terrorists were killed in the gun-fight on Saturday while firing resumed this afternoon at two places in the air base. he said all the assets of the IAF were safe.
“A fresh contact has been established and there was brief firing,” a senior army official said in Pathankot.
Air Commodore J.S Dhamoon, Air Officer Commanding, Air Force Station Pathankot, said “The operations are at a mature stage. Operations will continue till the air base is cleared off any intruder or terrorist.”
There was heavy but brief exchange of fire at the area of operation where additional reinforcements rushed as five companies, comprising nearly 500 personnel, were deployed by the army. The firing was still continuing, police officials said.
The fresh exchange of fire in the afternoon and the grenade blast occured as the joint combing operation by the armed forces, police and security personnel was still underway and the NIA had taken over the probe into the terror attack.
PM MEETS TOP OFFICIALS
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday held a meeting with top officials to discuss the Pathankot terror attack.
Soon after returning from his two-day visit to Karnataka, Modi chaired a meeting of top officials including National Security Adviser Ajit Doval and Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar.
“Immediately on landing in Delhi, PM Narendra Modi is chairing a high-level meeting with the NSA, Foreign Secretary and other officials,” the PMO said.
Earlier during the day, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar briefed Prime Minister Modi on the latest situation at the Pathankot air base.
The security forces have already killed four terrorists and two more are believed to be still holed-up inside the base, and an operation is underway to flush them out.