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Gunmen attack India air force base Gunmen attack India air force base
(about 1 hour later)
Gunmen have attacked an Indian air force base near the border with Pakistan, officials say. At least six people have been killed in an attack on an Indian air force base close to the border with Pakistan, reports say.
Gunfire is being heard from inside the Pathankot air force base and army commando units and helicopters have been called in. Four gunmen who entered the Pathankot base in a hijacked car are dead along with two guards, officials said.
Two attackers were killed, said Indian Defence Ministry spokesman Nitin Wakankar. The base is on the main highway leading to Indian-administered Kashmir.
Officials say a hijacked police car was used in the attack and the gunmen were wearing Indian army uniforms. The incident comes days after the Indian and Pakistani leaders Narendra Modi and Nawaz Sharif met in Lahore to launch a surprise peace initiative.
The incident comes just days after the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, met in Lahore to launch a surprise peace initiative. The whole of India's Punjab state has been placed on alert.
Militant allegationMilitant allegation
The attack was launched at about 03:30 (22:00 GMT Friday) by four or five assailants, according to local news sources. The BBC's Sanjoy Majumder in Delhi says it is not yet clear who the attackers are but suspicion is already falling on Kashmiri militant groups based in Pakistan.
The surviving attackers are now holed up in buildings on the base. However the AFP news agency quoted an unnamed security official as saying he thought the attackers were from the Jaish-e-Mohammed group.
"They are heavily armed and the attack is aimed to cause maximum damage to the equipment at the station but we have been successful so far," said an unnamed security official quoted by the Agence France-Presse news agency. The group is based in Indian-administered Kashmir and opposes Indian rule there.
"We believe they are Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists."
The Jaish-e-Mohammed militant group is based in Indian-administered Kashmir and opposes Indian rule there.
India says the group is backed by Pakistan, but Islamabad denies this.India says the group is backed by Pakistan, but Islamabad denies this.
In August seven people were killed when gunmen stormed a police station in nearby Gurdaspur district. In August seven people were killed in a similar attack when gunmen stormed a police station in nearby Gurdaspur district.
The three attackers in Gurdaspur were killed after a 12-hour standoff with police.The three attackers in Gurdaspur were killed after a 12-hour standoff with police.
Pathankot air force base is about 430km (270 miles) north of the Indian capital, Delhi. Pathankot air force base is about 430km (270 miles) north of the Indian capital, Delhi and is on the road linking Indian-administered Kashmir with the rest of the country.
It lies on the road linking Indian-administered Kashmir with the rest of the country, near to the border with Pakistan.
Indian-administered Kashmir has seen a long-running insurgency against rule from Delhi, and Kashmir has been a flashpoint in relations between Pakistan and India for nearly 70 years since independence.Indian-administered Kashmir has seen a long-running insurgency against rule from Delhi, and Kashmir has been a flashpoint in relations between Pakistan and India for nearly 70 years since independence.