PNS Mehran attack

PNS Mehran attack
Part of series of insurgent attacks in Pakistan
Date22–23 May 2011
Location
Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
24°00′N 67°00′E / 24.0°N 67.0°E / 24.0; 67.0
Result

Pakistan Navy re-captures naval base

  • No hostages were taken
  • Militants killed in action
  • Naval surveillance planes destroyed
Belligerents
 Pakistan
 Pakistan Navy		 Afghanistan TTP
Al-Qaeda
Commanders and leaders
Lieutenant Yasser Abbas † Ehsanullah Ehsan
Azam Tariq
Ayman al-Zawahiri
Ilyas Kashmiri †
Units involved
Naval Special Service Group–SSG(N)
Special Security Unit Sindh Police		 15-man-strong terrorist squad
Strength
500+ 15 terrorists
Casualties and losses
Killed in action (total 18):
11 naval officers[1]
1 fireman
3 SSG(N) officers
1 sailor[1]
2 Army Rangers[1]
Wounded in Action:
16 naval personnel[1]
Physical damage:
2 P3C Orion aircraft destroyed.[1][2]		 Killed in Action:
4 militants[2]
Wounded in Action
5 militants
Caught:
4 militants
2 militants escaped
Karachi is located in Pakistan
Karachi
Karachi
class=notpageimage|
Location within Pakistan

The PNS Mehran attack[3][4][5] was an attack/shooting by Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Al Qaeda which took place on 22 May 2011, at PNS Mehran, the headquarters of the Pakistan Navy's Naval Air Arm and the most populous Pakistani military installation, located near the PAF's Faisal Air Force Base of Karachi, Sindh.

In the course of the event, 15 attackers killed 18 military personnel and wounded 16 in a sophisticated terrorist attack which lasted 16 hours.[6] Two American-built P-3C Orion surveillance aircraft were destroyed.[7]

According to the United States and Western intelligence sources, the attack was far more dangerous than the 2009 Pakistan Army General Headquarters attack, and was better planned and more rehearsed than the previous attack.[8][9] It was the biggest attack on the Navy and its assets since 1971, and is believed to have been the last major attack of militant mastermind Ilyas Kashmiri.[10] The Special Service Group (Navy) (SSG (N)), carried out the counter-attack, which was the largest operation led by SSG (N).

  1. ^ a b c d e "Operation at PNS Base in Karachi comes to an end". Dawn. 23 May 2011. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  2. ^ a b "Pakistan: Troops end attack on Karachi naval air base". BBC. 23 May 2011. Retrieved 14 August 2013.
  3. ^ "PNS Mehran attack". Pak Tribune. 26 May 2011. Archived from the original on 29 May 2011. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
  4. ^ "PNS Mehran: Joint committee begins investigations". The Express Tribune. 26 May 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
  5. ^ Raza, Atif (26 May 2011). "Police initiate formal investigation into PNS Mehran attack case". Daily Times. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. Retrieved 26 May 2011.
  6. ^ "[Pakistan Primer Pt. 2] From Kashmir to the FATA: The ISI Loses Control Archived 27 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine," Global Bearings, 28 October 2011.
  7. ^ "Three Pakistan navy officers face trial after base raid inquiry". Reuters. 4 August 2011. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  8. ^ نیول بیس حملہ: جی ایچ کیو حملے سے زیادہ خطرناک ہے، امریکا. Daily Jang. 24 May 2011. Archived from the original on 30 July 2011. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  9. ^ "NATO concern over Pakistan nuclear arsenal". Al Jazeera. 24 May 2011. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
  10. ^ "[Pakistan Primer Pt. 2] From Kashmir to the FATA: The ISI Loses Control Archived 27 January 2012 at the Wayback Machine," Global Bearings, 28 October 2011.