Attack on India air force base in Punjab kills 6

At least four gunmen and two Indian Air Force (IAF) personnel were killed Saturday in an attack on an air force base in the northern state of Punjab, close to the international border with Pakistan, India's official broadcaster All India Radio (AIR) said. Gunfight broke out at around 3:30 a.m. (local time) inside the Pathankot air force base, about 430 km north of Indian capital city of New Delhi. "Four gunmen and two IAF personnel were killed in the ongoing attack, while as six other security men are also wounded," the AIR said. Though exact number of attackers was not immediately known, officials believe four to five gunmen in military fatigues stormed the base. The broadcaster said the helicopters and other equipment at the air base were safe. "The attackers were met with strong resistance from the security personnel who were already alert to the possibility of an attack," AIR said. "They could not enter the air base and managed to reach only to the langer (kitchen) area on the outside." Following the attack Indian military pressed in helicopters and used its elite commandos to take on militants inside the base. A military spokesman Lt. Col Manish Mehta told Xinhua they would share details after the culmination of operation. "Let the operation ends, we will share all the details," Mehta said. An alert has been sounded in the Punjab and Indian-controlled Kashmir in wake of the attack. Officials said a hijacked police car was used by gunmen in the attack. An emergency meeting has been convened at IAF headquarters in New Delhi to monitor the situation, officials said. Indian officials blame Pakistan-based militants for the attack. Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh told media their security agencies were giving befitting reply to the attackers in Pathankot. "Pakistan is our neighbour and we want peace, but any terrorist attack on India will get a befitting response," Singh said. "I am happy that our forces gave a befitting response in Punjab, I am proud of them." The attack comes just days after the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Lahore and met Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, to give boost to the renewed peace initiative between the two countries. The attack has raised speculations over the continuation of thaw in India-Pakistan relations. "That was quick. Here's the first major challenge to the PM Modi's bold Pakistan gambit," former chief minister of Indian-controlled Kashmir Omar Abdullah wrote on twitter. Last year in July, at least 10 people including four policemen and three civilians were killed in an attack on a police station in Gurdaspur district of Punjab.