India Terrorist Attack: 4 Terrorists Killed, 2 Holed Up As Operations Continue, Says Home Ministry

UPDATE: 6:45 a.m. EST -- Rajiv Mehrishi, home secretary to India's Ministry of Home Affairs, said in a press briefing that counterterrorism operations to neutralize the terrorists were still ongoing and confirmed the death of only four terrorists who had been killed Saturday. He also said the remaining terrorists, at least two, had been confined to a small area and there was no risk of them escaping. Tactical details were not revealed, since operations were still ongoing. Mehrishi confirmed that seven security personnel had been killed, and revealed another 12 had been injured, one of them seriously.

Meanwhile, sources in the Ministry of Home Affairs told Reuters that six terrorists had been killed. An administrative unit was blown up to neutralize the sixth terrorist, reported Reuters.

UPDATE: 5:30 a.m. EST -- One of the two remaining terrorists inside the Pathankot Air Force Base has been killed by security forces, local newspaper the Hindu reported, citing sources in the army. It is suspected that at least one more terrorist could be still alive. The report also said that two militants from Jaish-e-Mohammed were also suspected to have made their way to New Delhi.

UPDATE: 4:00 a.m. EST -- Local television channels cited police saying that two gunmen were still holding up at the Pathankot Air Force Base in Punjab, India. However, a home ministry official, reportedly did not confirm reports that gunmen were still at large, despite fresh blasts and gunfire were heard on Sunday morning.

Original Story:

Three soldiers, who were injured in Saturday’s terrorist attacks on the Pathankot Air Force Base in Punjab, India, later died in hospital, according to local news reports. Along with the four terrorists killed in Saturday's counterterrorism operations, the total number of dead now stands at 11.

Two more blasts and gunfire were heard from the base Sunday morning, leading to speculation that another terrorist could still be inside the base, according to the Hindustan Times, a local newspaper. The two blasts, triggered by improvised explosive devices, injured three soldiers and killed an officer, the newspaper reported.

Combing operations continued at the base throughout Saturday night, according to the Times of India, another local newspaper. Among the weapons and equipment recovered from the terrorists were AK-47s assault rifles, mortars, grenade launchers and GPS devices, the NDTV reported. The GPS devices would be analyzed to establish the route the terrorists took to enter the base, the report added.

Meanwhile, the investigation into Saturday’s attack has been handed over to India’s National Investigation Agency, whose officers reached the base around 11:30 a.m. local time on Sunday (1:00 a.m. EST), the Hindustan Times reported.

While authorities suspect the attack was carried out by Jaish-e-Mohammed, a terrorist group with its base in Pakistan, there has been no claim of responsibility for the terrorist attacks so far, Reuters reported.