Death toll in attack on Indian air base rises to 11 as commando is blown up

Seven troops have died during a 14-hour long battle with Islamic militants who attacked an Indian air force base. Two were killed in the fighting, another four succumbed later to their injures and an elite commando was killed while defusing explosives during efforts to secure the site on Sunday morning. Also among those killed was Subedar Fateh Singh, a gold medallist at the 1995 Commonwealth Shooting Championships in New Delhi. The four attackers also died during the battle at the Pathankot air force base in Punjab.

If there is any kind of terror attack on India, we will give it a fitting reply.

India’s Home Minister Rajnath Singh

The attackers entered the living quarters but failed to penetrate an area housing helicopters and other equipment, an air force spokeswoman said on Sunday. The attack came just a week after India’s Prime minister Narendra Modi made an unannounced visit to Pakistan to meet his opposite number Nawaz Sharif. The visit was seen as a potential sign of thawing relations between the neighbouring countries, which both have nuclear weapons. The two leaders also had an unscheduled meeting at the Paris climate change talks. India accuses Pakistan of arming and training Kashmiri rebels, a charge denied by Islamabad.

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