A brazen terrorist assault on Karachi airport’s old terminal came to an end early Monday morning, five hours after 10 militants took siege of the airport, the military announced.
The Pakistan Army spokesman has said the entire airport has been cleared and that all terrorists have been killed.
At least 23 people have been reportedly killed, including security personnel.
Ten terrorists were also among the dead.
Army Spokesman Asim Bajwa said that the terrorists "were confined to two areas and eliminated."
Five Airport Security Force (ASF) personnel were killed when heavily armed assailants started shooting and hurling grenades after entering the airport using forged ID cards of ASF, The Dawn reported citing security sources.
The attackers also managed to enter a plane. One plane each of Pakistan International Airlines and AirBlue and a cargo plane of a foreign company have been damaged in the attack.
As intermittent firing continues, heavy contingents of police and paramilitary troppers have sealed all the routes leading to the airport.
A rescue operation has been launched to move airport staff to safer areas.
Rescue teams are being allowed after being checked thoroughly.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has called DG Rangers Sindh and asked him to ensure the safety of passengers, the daily said.
All flight operations at the airport have been suspended and flights have been diverted to other airports.
