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)
TT

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.



US Attorneys General Urge a ‘Peaceful Transfer of Power’

Supporters of former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gather near his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on Election Day, November 5, 2024. (AFP)
Supporters of former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gather near his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on Election Day, November 5, 2024. (AFP)
TT

US Attorneys General Urge a ‘Peaceful Transfer of Power’

Supporters of former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gather near his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on Election Day, November 5, 2024. (AFP)
Supporters of former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump gather near his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, on Election Day, November 5, 2024. (AFP)

The attorneys general from 47 states and three US territories urged people to remain peaceful and to preemptively “condemn any acts of violence” related to the results of the presidential election.

The statement, released Tuesday, was signed by chief prosecutors from every US state except Indiana, Montana and Texas. Attorneys general from the District of Columbia and the US territories of American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands and US Virgin Islands also signed.

“We call upon every American to vote, participate in civil discourse and, above all, respect the integrity of the democratic process,” they wrote. “Violence has no place in the democratic process; we will exercise our authority to enforce the law against any illegal acts that threaten it.”

Fears of election violence persist nearly four years after Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump supporters rioted at the US Capitol in an attempt to stop the election certification.

Rather than condemning the violence during his campaign, Trump has celebrated the rioters, pledging to pardon them and featuring a recorded chorus of prisoners in jail for their roles in the Jan. 6 attack singing the national anthem.