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.



Iran to Hold Nuclear Talks with Three European Powers in Geneva on Friday

Western countries successfully moved a resolution at the IAEA to censure Iran over its nuclear program - AFP
Western countries successfully moved a resolution at the IAEA to censure Iran over its nuclear program - AFP
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Iran to Hold Nuclear Talks with Three European Powers in Geneva on Friday

Western countries successfully moved a resolution at the IAEA to censure Iran over its nuclear program - AFP
Western countries successfully moved a resolution at the IAEA to censure Iran over its nuclear program - AFP

Iran plans to hold talks about its disputed nuclear program with three European powers on Nov. 29 in Geneva, Japan's Kyodo news agency reported on Sunday, days after the UN atomic watchdog passed a resolution against Tehran.
Iran reacted to the resolution, which was proposed by Britain, France, Germany and the United States, with what government officials called various measures such as activating numerous new and advanced centrifuges, machines that enrich uranium.
Kyodo said Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian's government was seeking a solution to the nuclear impasse ahead of the inauguration in January of US President-elect Donald Trump, Reuters reported.
A senior Iranian official confirmed that the meeting would go ahead next Friday, adding that "Tehran has always believed that the nuclear issue should be resolved through diplomacy. Iran has never left the talks".
In 2018, the then-Trump administration exited Iran's 2015 nuclear pact with six major powers and reimposed harsh sanctions on Iran, prompting Tehran to violate the pact's nuclear limits, with moves such as rebuilding stockpiles of enriched uranium, refining it to higher fissile purity and installing advanced centrifuges to speed up output.
Indirect talks between President Joe Biden's administration and Tehran to try to revive the pact have failed, but Trump said in his election campaign in September that "We have to make a deal, because the consequences are impossible. We have to make a deal".