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An eyewitness account of the terrorist attack at Khalid Aviation Base Quetta and PAF Base Samungli by Lt Col Sohail Akbar Bajwa
It was an evening as usual in Quetta as I was retiring at my residence and was enjoying the programmes of Independence Day on TV. It was around 2135 hours that I received a call from the Headquarters Southern Command (HQ SC) that I was needed to report immediately at Khalid Aviation Base (KAB), Quetta, due to a terrorist activity. Being a Commanding Officer (CO) of Light Commando Battalion, I immediately passed instructions to my men and moved to the location of the incident. Meanwhile, I was informed that some intrusion by the terrorists had taken place both at the PAF Base Samungli and KAB. The CO of 16 Punjab, Lt Col Ahmed was also passed similar instructions, who also immediately moved to KAB. Upon reaching KAB and taking control of my area of responsibility, I came to know that the terrorists were spotted by few civilians while they were attempting to cut the outer fence of the base and making their way in. The locals residing nearby KAB, displayed responsibility and immediately passed this information to the authorities concerned. The information was conforming to earlier threats to KAB and Samungli base, thus the entire security apparatus in the Cantonment as well as Samungli base came to red alert.
I was told to cordon off the base from south, checking suspicious movement and stop any spillover of the terrorists towards the Cantonment. Meanwhile the General Officer Commanding (GOC) Major General Aftab, Brigadier Rohail and Base Commander Brigadier Aziz ul Hassan Usmani had been carrying the reconnaissance of the entire base periphery. At the same time, the QRF of my unit was put on 15 minutes notice possibly for PAF Base Samungli. Meanwhile, 48 FF was also assigned to carry out search from the intrusion site. As soon the troops led by Lieutenant Colonel Waseem Iqbal and Captain Yasir approached the middle part of the fence, they were fired upon fiercely. The fire was so intense that it had hit Brig Usmani‘s vehicle, bursting its tyre, and a bullet also passed through the jeep of Maj Gen Aftab. It is important to mention about the valour of the Base Commander‘s driver who changed the burst tyre in a minimum time amidst heavy exchange of fire; he successfully brought the commander back to the base. This fire caused multiple bullet injuries to the troops of 48 FF including Capt Yasir. However, the terrorists were fired back by the soldiers of 16 Punjab. The enemy was in near vicinity and fire exchange was taking place from as close as 70 metres. The valiant sons of 16 Punjab led by its brave officers proved true to their salt. In this dual of extreme nerves, they proved their professional mettle and hit the terrorists back with extreme courage and bravery. Meanwhile, 16 Punjab on inner cordon of the base was reinforced by the troops of Punjab Light Commando Battalion led by Major Hassan in heavy volleys of fire. Moving forward, I contacted the CO of 16 Punjab and coordinated the employment of my men with him. The best part was that no intrusion had been made by the terrorists into KAB. The firefight continued till 0145 hours when the last of the big blasts was heard near inner fence. It was expected that all terrorists had been killed by that time. It was the same time that I received a call from the COS SC Major General Majid Ehsan who appreciated all the troops, took a stock of situation on ground and asked me for any further help in discharging of duties.
The situation and events at the PAF Base Samungli were no different from KAB. The provost and intelligence tentacles provided the information of a suspicious vehicle with about 8 individuals parked within the short vicinity of outer boundary of the base wall near Kili Khezi. The FC deployed outside the wall was assigned to check the vehicle. When the FC troops reached near the vehicle, the terrorists, of whom the two were wearing FC uniforms, started firing at them. In the heavy exchange of fire, the terrorists spread out and started firing rockets, small arms and various other firearms. They fired about 5-6 rockets into the airbase, which landed near the main tarmac. Allah had been so kind that no harm was done and that few of those rockets didn‘t even explode. Three terrorists were killed during this encounter with the FC. This was followed by a fierce firefight between the terrorists and our own security guards on the outer fence, which resulted in multiple bullet and shrapnel injuries to the troops of 16 Punjab and Defence Services Guard (DSG). During this exchange of fire, Wing Commander Mehr Gul, Commanding Officer of the under attack PAF squadron, rushed to the base‘s main tarmac. Simultaneously, Base Commander Air Commodore Salman Bukhari moved the troops of 16 Punjab and the PAF ground combaters to the boundary wall to tackle the expected intrusion. The terrorists had also made holes in the outer boundary wall and were making efforts to enter the base. In the same situation, the terrorists got inside the boundary wall and were hiding near one of the washrooms of DSG living area. At about 0130 hours, Wing Commander Mehr Gul and Wing Commander Ameed Ullah (Chief Security Coordinator) requested the Base Commander for employment of Punjab Light Commando troops at the airbase since any further intrusion into the base could be disastrous. On the request of the Base Commander, an armed helicopter (heli) was sent to Samungli from KAB. The heli spotted a few individuals hiding along the boundary wall and fired upon them.
The QRF of Punjab Light Commando Battalion comprising 40 individuals was moved to the airbase at about 0245 hours. Snipers were deployed along the inner perimeter covering the fighter aircraft while Capt Fakhar along with Wing Commander Mehr Gul climbed upon the ADA pen (a high-rise structure) for observing and locating the hiding terrorists. They successfully located the hiding terrorists through specialized NVGs and same information was shared with Maj Atif and Capt Bugti of 16 Punjab and the PAF troops. These two brave officers were quick to respond, and killed the terrorists. By 0615 hours the situation had calmed down at both the bases. The assets had remained safe Al Hamd o Lillah, and there weren‘t any fatal casualties to own troops except 14 wounded. In all, 12 terrorists had been killed including 6 who were wearing suicide jackets. The terrorists had left behind a huge cache of ammunition and explosives. The national threat had been subdued with great courage and conviction and above all, with the united response of all our security forces. Lieutenant General Nasser Janjua, Commander Southern Command, was continuously monitoring the situation at both the places and was issuing orders for implementation at the ground level. The follow-up visits of General Raheel Sharif, Chief of Army Staff, Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt, Chief of Air Staff, Chief Minister Balochistan Abdul Malik along with his ministers, IG Police, and IG FC Balochistan to the wounded officers and soldiers raised the morale of the troops. The success of the operation was a Divine blessing indeed. The public grew more confidence in the forces and are certain that the security of Pakistan lies in safer hands. Timely help in shape of information sharing by the local population was indeed the most valuable asset in this operation. We all bow our heads to Allah Almighty in gratitude of the Divine help in the thickest hour.
It was an evening as usual in Quetta as I was retiring at my residence and was enjoying the programmes of Independence Day on TV. It was around 2135 hours that I received a call from the Headquarters Southern Command (HQ SC) that I was needed to report immediately at Khalid Aviation Base (KAB), Quetta, due to a terrorist activity. Being a Commanding Officer (CO) of Light Commando Battalion, I immediately passed instructions to my men and moved to the location of the incident. Meanwhile, I was informed that some intrusion by the terrorists had taken place both at the PAF Base Samungli and KAB. The CO of 16 Punjab, Lt Col Ahmed was also passed similar instructions, who also immediately moved to KAB. Upon reaching KAB and taking control of my area of responsibility, I came to know that the terrorists were spotted by few civilians while they were attempting to cut the outer fence of the base and making their way in. The locals residing nearby KAB, displayed responsibility and immediately passed this information to the authorities concerned. The information was conforming to earlier threats to KAB and Samungli base, thus the entire security apparatus in the Cantonment as well as Samungli base came to red alert.
I was told to cordon off the base from south, checking suspicious movement and stop any spillover of the terrorists towards the Cantonment. Meanwhile the General Officer Commanding (GOC) Major General Aftab, Brigadier Rohail and Base Commander Brigadier Aziz ul Hassan Usmani had been carrying the reconnaissance of the entire base periphery. At the same time, the QRF of my unit was put on 15 minutes notice possibly for PAF Base Samungli. Meanwhile, 48 FF was also assigned to carry out search from the intrusion site. As soon the troops led by Lieutenant Colonel Waseem Iqbal and Captain Yasir approached the middle part of the fence, they were fired upon fiercely. The fire was so intense that it had hit Brig Usmani‘s vehicle, bursting its tyre, and a bullet also passed through the jeep of Maj Gen Aftab. It is important to mention about the valour of the Base Commander‘s driver who changed the burst tyre in a minimum time amidst heavy exchange of fire; he successfully brought the commander back to the base. This fire caused multiple bullet injuries to the troops of 48 FF including Capt Yasir. However, the terrorists were fired back by the soldiers of 16 Punjab. The enemy was in near vicinity and fire exchange was taking place from as close as 70 metres. The valiant sons of 16 Punjab led by its brave officers proved true to their salt. In this dual of extreme nerves, they proved their professional mettle and hit the terrorists back with extreme courage and bravery. Meanwhile, 16 Punjab on inner cordon of the base was reinforced by the troops of Punjab Light Commando Battalion led by Major Hassan in heavy volleys of fire. Moving forward, I contacted the CO of 16 Punjab and coordinated the employment of my men with him. The best part was that no intrusion had been made by the terrorists into KAB. The firefight continued till 0145 hours when the last of the big blasts was heard near inner fence. It was expected that all terrorists had been killed by that time. It was the same time that I received a call from the COS SC Major General Majid Ehsan who appreciated all the troops, took a stock of situation on ground and asked me for any further help in discharging of duties.
The situation and events at the PAF Base Samungli were no different from KAB. The provost and intelligence tentacles provided the information of a suspicious vehicle with about 8 individuals parked within the short vicinity of outer boundary of the base wall near Kili Khezi. The FC deployed outside the wall was assigned to check the vehicle. When the FC troops reached near the vehicle, the terrorists, of whom the two were wearing FC uniforms, started firing at them. In the heavy exchange of fire, the terrorists spread out and started firing rockets, small arms and various other firearms. They fired about 5-6 rockets into the airbase, which landed near the main tarmac. Allah had been so kind that no harm was done and that few of those rockets didn‘t even explode. Three terrorists were killed during this encounter with the FC. This was followed by a fierce firefight between the terrorists and our own security guards on the outer fence, which resulted in multiple bullet and shrapnel injuries to the troops of 16 Punjab and Defence Services Guard (DSG). During this exchange of fire, Wing Commander Mehr Gul, Commanding Officer of the under attack PAF squadron, rushed to the base‘s main tarmac. Simultaneously, Base Commander Air Commodore Salman Bukhari moved the troops of 16 Punjab and the PAF ground combaters to the boundary wall to tackle the expected intrusion. The terrorists had also made holes in the outer boundary wall and were making efforts to enter the base. In the same situation, the terrorists got inside the boundary wall and were hiding near one of the washrooms of DSG living area. At about 0130 hours, Wing Commander Mehr Gul and Wing Commander Ameed Ullah (Chief Security Coordinator) requested the Base Commander for employment of Punjab Light Commando troops at the airbase since any further intrusion into the base could be disastrous. On the request of the Base Commander, an armed helicopter (heli) was sent to Samungli from KAB. The heli spotted a few individuals hiding along the boundary wall and fired upon them.
The QRF of Punjab Light Commando Battalion comprising 40 individuals was moved to the airbase at about 0245 hours. Snipers were deployed along the inner perimeter covering the fighter aircraft while Capt Fakhar along with Wing Commander Mehr Gul climbed upon the ADA pen (a high-rise structure) for observing and locating the hiding terrorists. They successfully located the hiding terrorists through specialized NVGs and same information was shared with Maj Atif and Capt Bugti of 16 Punjab and the PAF troops. These two brave officers were quick to respond, and killed the terrorists. By 0615 hours the situation had calmed down at both the bases. The assets had remained safe Al Hamd o Lillah, and there weren‘t any fatal casualties to own troops except 14 wounded. In all, 12 terrorists had been killed including 6 who were wearing suicide jackets. The terrorists had left behind a huge cache of ammunition and explosives. The national threat had been subdued with great courage and conviction and above all, with the united response of all our security forces. Lieutenant General Nasser Janjua, Commander Southern Command, was continuously monitoring the situation at both the places and was issuing orders for implementation at the ground level. The follow-up visits of General Raheel Sharif, Chief of Army Staff, Air Chief Marshal Tahir Rafique Butt, Chief of Air Staff, Chief Minister Balochistan Abdul Malik along with his ministers, IG Police, and IG FC Balochistan to the wounded officers and soldiers raised the morale of the troops. The success of the operation was a Divine blessing indeed. The public grew more confidence in the forces and are certain that the security of Pakistan lies in safer hands. Timely help in shape of information sharing by the local population was indeed the most valuable asset in this operation. We all bow our heads to Allah Almighty in gratitude of the Divine help in the thickest hour.
