Militants Attack Air Force Base in Central Pakistan

A police officer talks on his wireless set as a rescue worker moves towards a victim at the site of bomb blast in Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan, Friday, Nov. 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Irfan Mughal)
A police officer talks on his wireless set as a rescue worker moves towards a victim at the site of bomb blast in Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan, Friday, Nov. 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Irfan Mughal)
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Militants Attack Air Force Base in Central Pakistan

A police officer talks on his wireless set as a rescue worker moves towards a victim at the site of bomb blast in Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan, Friday, Nov. 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Irfan Mughal)
A police officer talks on his wireless set as a rescue worker moves towards a victim at the site of bomb blast in Dera Ismail Khan, Pakistan, Friday, Nov. 3, 2023. (AP Photo/Irfan Mughal)

Nine militants attacked an air force training base in the central Pakistani area of Mianwali on Saturday damaging three "non-operational" aircraft, the military said, adding that all assailants had been killed by security forces.
Three militants were killed before they entered the base while the others had been cornered before the clearance operation began, the military said in a statement. It did not mention any casualties amongst security personnel.
The early Saturday attack startled residents living close by when volleys of gunfire broke the morning silence.
"I woke up at around 3 a.m. after I heard massive gun shots which continued till around 7 a.m.," Zeeshan Niazi, a resident of Mianwali, told Reuters.
The military said nine militants had been killed in the attack on the Pakistan Air Force Training Airbase Mianwali. An earlier statement said that six militants were involved in the attack.
"No damage has been done to any of the Pakistan Air Force's functional operational assets, while only some damage was done to three already phased out non-operational aircraft during the attack," the military statement said. It earlier said a fuel tanker had also been damaged in the attack.
"Due to the swift and effective response by the troops, (the attack) has been foiled and thwarted, ensuring the safety and security of personnel and assets," the statement said.
Islamist militant group Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan (TJP) claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement sent to journalists by its spokesperson.
TJP came to the fore only this year and little is known about the group, which has carried out a string of high-profile attacks in the country, including killing 12 soldiers at a Pakistani military base in the southwestern province of Balochistan in July.



Biden Is Laying Low at the White House on Election Day

US President Joe Biden points a finger as he delivers remarks on the administration's continued drawdown efforts in Afghanistan in a speech from the East Room at the White House in Washington US, July 8, 2021. (Reuters)
US President Joe Biden points a finger as he delivers remarks on the administration's continued drawdown efforts in Afghanistan in a speech from the East Room at the White House in Washington US, July 8, 2021. (Reuters)
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Biden Is Laying Low at the White House on Election Day

US President Joe Biden points a finger as he delivers remarks on the administration's continued drawdown efforts in Afghanistan in a speech from the East Room at the White House in Washington US, July 8, 2021. (Reuters)
US President Joe Biden points a finger as he delivers remarks on the administration's continued drawdown efforts in Afghanistan in a speech from the East Room at the White House in Washington US, July 8, 2021. (Reuters)

US President Joe Biden has no public appearances on his schedule and his press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, won’t be holding her typical daily briefing on Tuesday.

Biden made his final campaign appearance on Saturday when he delivered a speech to laborers on behalf of the Harris-Walz campaign in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

He hasn’t taken a question from reporters since gaggling at an event in Baltimore last Tuesday.

Later that same day, Biden created an uproar in remarks to Latino activists when he responded to racist comments at a Trump rally made by the comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who referred to the US island territory of Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage.”

Biden, according to a transcript prepared by the official White House stenographers, told the Latino group on a Tuesday evening video call, “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters — his — his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American.”

The dizzying presidential contest between Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Kamala Harris hurtled toward an uncertain finish on Tuesday as millions of Americans headed to the polls to choose between two sharply different visions for the country.

A race churned by unprecedented events – two assassination attempts against Trump, Biden's surprise withdrawal and Harris' rapid rise – remained neck and neck as Election Day dawned, even after billions of dollars in spending and months of frenetic campaigning.