Islamabad, Oct 10 (Inditop.com) Half a dozen terrorists mounted an audacious gun and grenade attack on the Pakistan Army’s headquarters in Rawalpindi Saturday, triggering heavy firing that left four militants and an unknown number of soldiers dead, military and police officials said.
An unspecified number of terrorists dressed in military uniform drove up to the fortified complex on the Mall Road in the garrison city adjoining Islamabad and took the guards by surprise, Pakistani media reported.
Police officer Mohammed Jamil said the attackers came in a white Suzuki vehicle, which soldiers stopped near a barricade. Its occupants immediately opened gunfire.
Others jumped out and hurled grenades. They also kept firing from automatic weapons.
Startled, the soldiers guarding the headquarters fired back, leading to heavy firing that claimed the lives of four attackers, the military said.
The operation, which stunned Pakistan and sparked off an immediate security alert in Islamabad, began just before noon.
About an hour later, military spokesman Major General Ather Abbas declared that four terrorists had been gunned down and the situation was under control.
Abbas told Geo TV that “some security guards have also embraced martyrdom” in the attack. Geo TV added that two terrorists were arrested.
“They wore army uniforms and tried to enter the headquarter area. When they were stopped, they opened fire and hurled hand grenades,” an unnamed security official told the media.
The identity of the gunmen was not immediately known, but the attack came a day after a powerful car bomb exploded in a crowded market in Peshawar city killing about 50 people.
Geo TV also quoted a witness, Mansoor Ahmad, as saying that Saturday’s attackers first fired at the soldiers from inside their van. “They were lobbing grenades again and again.”
Ahmad said at least one attacker was killed within minutes. His body lay on the road.
Army helicopters quickly took to the sky, hovering overhead with snipers on board. Army commandos took up positions on nearby buildings. All roads in the vicinity were cordoned off.
For over 45 minutes, there was interrmittent grenade explosions and gunfire in the area.
