Gunmen Attack Karachi Airport, Killing at Least 4 Guards

Gunmen attacked a cargo and V.I.P. area of Karachi’s international airport late Sunday night, engaging in a heavy firefight with security forces and killing at least four of them, Pakistani security officials said.

The officials said that six to 10 attackers were involved, and that the fighting continued into Monday morning.

Security forces sealed off the airport, and flights began being diverted away from Karachi soon after the firing began.

More It was unclear who was behind the attack; there was no immediate claim of responsibility, though initial suspicion fell on the Pakistani Taliban or one of its splinter groups. The militant group resumed attacks after a short cease-fire that was called while the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif tried to conduct peace talks.

It was also not immediately known whether the gunmen specifically meant to attack that part of the airport, Pakistan’s largest, or had been stopped by airport security on their way to somewhere else.

From The New York Times: