Gunmen fire on Pakistani plane
June 24, 2014
Authorities were scouring the area around the Bacha Khan International Airport in Peshawar on Tuesday after gunmen fired on a Pakistan International Airlines flight as it landed in the country's volatile northwest.
A female passenger was killed and at least two others wounded, according to airline spokesman Mashood Tajwar. The flight was arriving from Riyadh in Saudi Arabia with more than 170 people on board.
Despite being hit by at least five bullets, the plane landed successfully. Police, however, said flights at the airport have been temporarily halted following the attack.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility, however, suspicion will likely fall on militants that the government has been fighting in the country's northwest.
Earlier in June, Pakistan's military launched a major operation against militants in the country's dangerous North Waziristan tribal area along the Afghan border. The area is used as a safe haven by Taliban and al Qaeda-linked militants from which to launch attacks. The operation has so far mostly consisted of airstrikes, but hundreds of thousands of refugees have fled North Waziristan as a result.
The operation was launched shortly after Taliban gunmen attacked the airport in the southern port city of Karachi on June 8, killing at least 34 people in a five-hour gun battle.
hc/lw (Reuters, AFP, AP)