Terrorist Attack on PAF Camp Badaber, Peshawar

Heavily-armed militants attacked the Pakistan Air Force base Badaber in Peshawar this morning, killing 29 people, says PAF spokesperson. These included 16 worshippers at a mosque located inside the base camp while three PAF technicians and an army captain were also killed battling with militants. Army soldiers quickly surrounded the attackers, confining them to a small area and killing at least 13 of them, said Pakistan’s military spokesman. ARY News reported in the evening that at least one attacker had been caught alive.

Terrorist attack on PAF camp Badaber, Peshawar once again necessitates the detailed revision of security plans for various airbases across the country. This is not the firs time PAF has been attacked by the terrorists. Earlier Mehran Base Karachi and Minhas Base Kamra have been attacked by terrorists and PAF has suffered major loses of its assets. P3-C Orion and Erieye AEW were destroyed in these attacks.

In today's attack though no such lose has been suffered by PAF, it will be prudent to ask why these terrorists were not checked by any law enforcement agency while they were on there way to Badaber camp?

Camp guards and QRF displayed professionalism while thwarting the attack and eliminated all the terrorists before letting them harm any of PAF's asset present on the base but still the loss of lives was on the higher side making it one of the most devastating attack after 14 December 2014 when TTP attacked Army Public School (APS) Peshawar in which more than 140 people were killed majority of them were students.

Analysis:

It must be noticed that this attack was mounted on PAF base Peshawar, but PAF camp. This shows that terrorists are desperate to make a big news. Since 1960's Badaber has remain a listening station used by CIA against Soviets. Camp mostly houses the residential quarters of PAF officials. So it will be prudent to assume that these terrorists were actually wanted to take hostage some of the PAF residents in the camp. Terrorists might wanted to use the hostages as bargain for the release of some arrested terrorists from custody of LEAs.