Rockets fired at airport in Peshawar, six killed

Militants fired three rockets at an airport in the northwestern Pakistani city of Peshawar on Saturday night, killing six people and wounding more than 40 others, DawnNews reported. Peshawar is located on the edge of Pakistan’s tribal region, the main sanctuary for al Qaeda and Taliban militants in the country. The city has been hit by repeated attacks in the past few years, but an attack on the airport is rare. None of the rockets landed inside the main airport area, which is jointly used by civilian authorities and the air force, said Pervez George, a spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Two of the rockets damaged a wall that surrounds the airport, and a third landed near a government building outside the premises, said Mian Iftikhar Hussain, the information minister in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where Peshawar is the capital. A gunbattle broke out between security forces and militants after the rocket attack, said Hussain. No militants were able to enter the airport, said the air force in a statement sent to reporters. No air force personnel were injured and none of their planes were damaged, it said. The dead and wounded from the attack came from the neighborhoods located near the airport, said Umar Ayub, a local hospital official. The wounded included women and children, and several people were in critical condition, said Ayub. Local TV footage showed people in the neighborhoods near the airport rushing for safety as the attack occurred. One car was damaged by the rocket fire and another was set on fire. A house was also damaged. The airport has been closed, and flights are being diverted to other cities, said George, the civil aviation spokesman.