Karachi : All the terrorists who stormed a naval base here have been killed after 15 hours of gun battles, Pakistan's Interior Minister Rehman Malik said Monday, adding no one had been taken hostage.
Announcing that the terrorist attack on the PNS Mehran base that began late Sunday had been put down "successfully", Malik said the heavily armed attackers killed 10 security personnel and firemen.
He said three terrorists were confirmed dead and a fourth may also have been killed. Fifteen people were injured in the mayhem.
Calling it a "pre-planned" operation at one of Pakistan's biggest military bases, Malik said a high alert had been issued across the country fearing more attacks from Islamists angered by Osama bin Laden's killing.
The minister, who reached the base before dawn Monday, said all 17 foreigners at the base -- 11 Chinese and six Americans -- were whisked away quickly to safety by alert security personnel.
"Nobody has been taken hostage," he said.
Giving the sequence of events, the minister said the attackers sneaked into the heavily guarded complex using two ladders and cutting the barbed wire fencing on the high compound walls.
The attackers targeted P-3C Orion aircraft, two of which were destroyed. But acting quickly, Pakistan Rangers towed away some other Orion aircraft.
Malik added: "Taliban is an enemy of Pakistan." IANS
