Kamra attack: Terrorists had 'contacts' with personnel

Evidence gathered by Pakistani investigators has indicated that Taliban terrorists who attacked a key airbase last month had contacts with security personnel at the facility, according to a media report on Wednesday.

Evidence gleaned from closed-circuit television footage of the brazen attack on Kamra airbase on August 16 indicates that the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan terrorists had 'contacts' with security personnel, The Express Tribune quoted its sources as saying.

The report did not give details of the alleged contacts. The evidence collected by Pakistan Air Force officials heading the inquiry into the attack suggested that 'some security personnel who had possible involvement in the attack would be court martialled', the report said.

The CCTV footage also showed that the attackers did not face much resistance from PAF personnel at the airbase, the report said. In a bid to escape the heavy firing by the terrorists, security personnel took shelter in a room.

Footage from one surveillance camera allegedly showed that the attackers had a meeting around a table after their assault on the base. One CCTV camera captured nine minutes of footage while another captured five more minutes.

Nine terrorists and two security personnel were killed during the attack on Kamra airbase. Officials had said a Saab-2000 surveillance aircraft was damaged by a rocket-propelled grenade fired by the attackers.

However, The Express Tribune reported that a reconnaissance aircraft was destroyed and two others were partially damaged.

The daily quoted its sources as saying that the tactics employed by a soldier, who lost his life while fighting off the attackers, and a colonel helped overcome the terrorists.

The colonel saved the life of the airbase's commander and killed four terrorists, the report said. The banned Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack, saying it was carried out to avenge the killing of militant commander Baitullah Mehsud and Osama bin Laden.

Interior Minister Rehman Malik has said that all the attackers were Pakistanis and that the planning for the raid could be traced back to North and South Waziristan tribal regions.

Police have so far identified three of the attackers as residents of Punjab province.