2016 Pathankot attack
Terrorist attack in India / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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On January 2 2016, 4 militants belonging to Islamic terrorist United Jihad Council[5] attacked the Indian Air Force's Pathankot Airbase, part of its Western Air Command.
2016 Pathankot attack | |
---|---|
Location | Pathankot AFS, Punjab, India |
Coordinates | 32°14′01″N 75°38′04″E |
Date | 2–5 January 2016 Began at 03:30 (IST) |
Target | Indian Air Force |
Attack type | Suicide mission |
Weapons | AK-47, Grenades, Grenade launchers, Mortars, IED |
Deaths | 12 (8 victims + 4 Terrorists)[1][2] 1 civilian and 7 security personnel (5 Defence Security Corps personnel; 1 IAF Garud commando; 1 National Security Guard)[3][4] |
Injured | 25 |
Victims | One civilian, Soldiers defending the base |
Perpetrators |
|
No. of participants | 4 |
Defenders | |
Motive | Islamic terrorism |
Four attackers and two security forces personnel were killed in the initial battle, with an additional security force member dying from injuries hours later.[10][11] The gun battle and the subsequent combing operation lasted about 17 hours on 2 January, resulting in five attackers and three security personnel dead.[12][13] Further three soldiers died after being admitted to hospital with injuries, raising the death toll to six soldiers.[2] On 3 January, fresh gunshots were heard, and another security officer was killed by an IED explosion.[14][15] The operation continued on 4 January, and a fifth attacker was confirmed killed.[16] Not until a final militant was reported killed on 5 January was the anti-militant operation declared over, though further searches continued for some time.[17]
The attack received wide international condemnation.[18] Though the United Jihad Council, a Kashmir-based militant group, claimed responsibility for the attack on 4 January,[5] the attackers, who were wearing Indian Army fatigues,[7] were subsequently suspected to belong to Pakistan-based Jaish-e-Mohammed, a group designated a terrorist organisation by India, the US, the UK and the UN.[19][20]
The attack led to a breakdown in India-Pakistan relations, which remained largely unresolved as of September 2023.[21] Media reports suggested that the attack was an attempt to derail a fragile peace process meant to stabilise the deteriorated relations between India and Pakistan, as several pieces of evidence were found linking the attackers to Pakistan.[22][23][24][25]
Shahid Latif, a senior Jaish-e-Mohammed commander and mastermind of the attack was assassinated by unknown gunmen on October 10 2023.[26] Latif, along with his brother and bodyguards, were targeted at dawn in a mosque in Daska, Pakistan.[27][28][29]