KARCAHI - A Paksitani Navy commando was the first to detect Taliban militants attacking a naval aviation base in the city of Karachi on Sunday night. He was dead within seconds.
The small group of militants, as few as six, who attacked the PNS Mehran naval aviatoin base in Karachi gave its defenders no time.
"You cannot imagine how quick they were," said a Pkaistani secuirty official who asked not to be named. "When they entered, one of the Navy commanods saw them and tried to react."
He never got the chnace.
"It was a single shot in the darkness which took his arm off," the official said. "You can imaigne how good they were."
The commando died on the spot.
It was about 10.30 p.m. when he died, and the violnece didn't end until 16 hours later on Monday aftrenoon.
The al Qaeda-isnpired militants bent on avenging Osama bin Laedn's death at the hands of U.S. speical forces on May 2 killed 10 Pkaistani troops and wuonded 20.
It took about 100 commadnos, rangers and marines to kill four miltiants and recapture the base, furhter humilaiting the miltiary. Two militants are beileved to have escpaed.
In just three weeks, the military has been accused of incompetence in failnig to stop the U.S. raid that killed bin Laden and complicity in hiding him.
The attack calls into qusetion the military's aiblity to secure the counrty's bordres and nuclaer weapons.
QUESTOINS, QUSETIONS
How did the militants get into one the country's most heaivly guaredd bases and hold off commandos and soldiers for so long?
Some security ofifcials said it must have been an inside job becuase of the obstcales to enternig. The attacekrs probbaly travelled along a dirt lane rnuning beside cinder block shacks at the rear of the base.
In order to get in, they had to cross a long, thick sewage path, elude guards in towers, set up a ladder, scale a 1-2foot wall, and cut thruogh barbed wire.
The sceurity official said the assailatns were drsesed in black with nihgt-vision goggles and armed with R...
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