2012 Bacha Khan International Airport attack

2012 Bacha Khan International Airport attack
Part of the War in North-West Pakistan
Bacha Khan International Airport is located in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Bacha Khan International Airport
Bacha Khan International Airport
Bacha Khan International Airport is located in Pakistan
Bacha Khan International Airport
Bacha Khan International Airport
LocationBacha Khan International Airport, Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan
Coordinates33°59′38″N 71°30′53″E / 33.99389°N 71.51472°E / 33.99389; 71.51472
Date15 December 2012 (Pakistan Standard Time)
TargetPakistan Air Force Base Peshawar
Attack type
Mass shooting, rocket attack
Deaths9+
Injured40+
PerpetratorsTehrik-i-Taliban

The 2012 Bacha Khan International Airport attack was a coordinated terrorist attack on Bacha Khan International Airport and the adjacent Pakistan Air Force Base (PAF) Peshawar on 15 December 2012 by Tehrik-i-Taliban terrorists in Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

Background

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Airport

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Main article: Bacha Khan International Airport

Bacha Khan International Airport is Peshawar's main civilian airport. It also contains the Pakistan Air Force Base of Peshawar. The airport is a major passenger hub of Pakistan and is the 4th busiest airport of the country[1] and the base serves as the headquarters for PAF's Northern Air Command.[2]

Previous incidents

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Bacha Khan International Airport is the most vulnerable strategic airport of Pakistan due to it being near the tribal areas of Pakistan and jointly being used by both Pakistan Air Force and Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority. Bacha Khan International Airport is often considered to be most targeted airport by the terrorist organizations in the world. It had been previously attacked on 26 December, 2006 when a bomb planted outside the airport in a car on Khyber Road exploded.[3] Then on 28 April, 2007 a small bomb exploded inside airport's canteen with no casualties.[4][5] In addition to these attacks there were several other attacks near the airport throughout the 21st Century. Most of the attacks were done by Tehrik-i-Taliban as a retaliation for the military operations against them.[6]

Threat of upcoming attack

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It was speculated that another Pakistan Air Force Base will be attacked since there was a recent attack on Minhas air base on 16 August, 2012.[7][8] Before the attack, a teenage would-be suicide bomber was also captured by police on the ring road near the airport.[9][10] Police investigation determined that the boy was sent to the airport once before by the terrorist organization.[11] All signs pointed to an upcoming attack due to which security was already heightened at the Bacha Khan Airport.[12]

Attack

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At around 8:30 pm in the night of 15 December 2012, five rockets were fired at the Bacha Khan International Airport.[13][14][15] Three of the rockets struck the outer wall of the airport and remaining two rockets hit a nearby guest house and a car.[16] The attack was carried out from the western side of the airport which was more vulnerable.[10] After penetration of the outer boundary walls, terrorists used two vehicles loaded with automatic weapons and explosives to try to get into the base[17][18] but one of the vehicle exploded before it could even enter the airport. After which an intense 30 minute gun battle between security forces and the terrorists ensued.[19] Amidst the attack, a Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) aircraft with passengers on board was parked on the apron of the airport.[20] The passengers were safely escorted to the airport lounge by security forces.[16] The crossfire came to an end when 5 of the terrorists were eliminated by security forces and remaining fled from the airport.[21]

Aftermath

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Bomb disposal

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Security forces found three suicide vest near the vehicles and eight bombs.[18] Out of the eight bombs five were detonated by the bomb squad after the attack.[17]

Police raid

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On 16 December 2012, the day after the attack, upon receiving hints, police raided a nearby building to the airport where the remaining terrorists had supposedly fled.[17][22] As an outcome of the raid, three more terrorist were eliminated in a shootout and another two blew themselves off by detonating their suicide vests.[21] One police commander was also killed and another two were injured.[22]

Repairs

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After the attack, security forces made a temporary curtain to hide the broken portion of the wall, while the wall was being reconstructed. No compensation were given by the government to nearby damaged residential buildings.[23]

Responsibility

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No group initially claimed responsibility for the attack, but most blamed Pakistani Taliban.[15] Later on the night of 26 December 2025, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack. Taliban spokesman Ehsanullah Ehsan told AFP news agency "Our target was fighter jets and helicopter gunships and soon we will target them again" from an undisclosed location.[24][25] Additionally, Ehsan also stated "We have planned more attacks on Pakistani forces and its installation as it works to please the USA."[22] The assault was reportedly launched from a nearby village named Abdra, according to a PAF spokesman, who added that a joint counter-terrorism operation by several security agencies was under way.[26] The BBC reported that the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan also played a role in the attack.[27]

Reactions

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Official statements

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A statement made by the PAF spokesman Group Captain Tariq Mahmood stated that only the outer wall of the airfield had been damaged and no terrorist penetrated the premises.[11][25]

Defence minister Naveed Qamar said the attack was well planned out and terrorists were heavily armed, however the response by the security forces ensured there had been no damage to property or loss of life within the airport.

Civil Aviation Authority of Pakistan spokesman Pervez George stated that the airport was closed after the attack began and all flights en route to Peshawar were diverted to Islamabad and Lahore.[11][28]

Public outcry

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Many families of the nearby residential area left their damaged houses as they were no longer habitable. Many people criticized the government for not providing compensation for the damages.[23]

Military operations

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The Bacha Khan airport attack prompted Pakistani military operations in the tribal regions such as Operation Rah-e-Shahadat in Khyber agency and Operation Zarb-e-Azb in North-Waziristan Agency. By 2016, civilian deaths due to terrorism declined to 600 from a high of 3000 in 2012.[29]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Largest airports and airlines in Pakistan". Worlddata.info. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  2. ^ "Pakistan AirForce About". Pakistan Air Force. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  3. ^ "Blast rocks Peshawar airport". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  4. ^ "Small Bomb Damages Canteen at Airport in Pakistan". Aviation Pros. 30 April 2007. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  5. ^ "KUNA : Small bomb explodes in Peshawar airport canteen, no casualties - Military - 28/04/2007". www.kuna.net.kw. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  6. ^ "Deadly bomb attack on Pearl Continental Hotel in Peshawar". France 24. 9 June 2009. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  7. ^ "Gunmen storm military air base in Pakistan". BBC News. 15 August 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  8. ^ "Several killed in Pakistan airbase raid". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  9. ^ riaz.ahmad (21 November 2012). "Carnage averted: Bomber boy intercepted, suicide vest removed". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
  10. ^ a b Shah, Waseem Ahmad (16 December 2012). "What makes Peshawar airport a favoured target". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  11. ^ a b c Khan, Ismail (16 December 2012). "Audacious attack on Peshawar PAF base". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
  12. ^ "Security heightened at Peshawar Airport". www.geo.tv. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  13. ^ Walsh, Declan (15 December 2012). "Militants' Attack on Airport Leaves 7 Dead in Pakistan". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  14. ^ "KUNA : Eight including 4 militants killed in Peshawar airport attack - General - 15/12/2012". www.kuna.net.kw. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  15. ^ a b "Terrorists launch rocket attack on Peshawar airport". The Hindu. 15 December 2012. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  16. ^ a b afp (15 December 2012). "Three people killed, 46 injured as attack on Peshawar airport repelled". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  17. ^ a b c "Pakistani Taliban claims deadly raid on Peshawar airport". France 24. 15 December 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  18. ^ a b "Pakistan police hunt down airport attackers". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  19. ^ Ahmad, Jibran (16 December 2012). "Nine dead as Taliban attack airport in North West Pakistan". Rueters. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  20. ^ Walsh, Declan (15 December 2012). "Militants' Attack on Airport Leaves 7 Dead in Pakistan". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  21. ^ a b "Pakistan Battles Militants Following Airport Attack". Voice of America. 16 December 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  22. ^ a b c riaz.ahmad (16 December 2012). "Airport attack: Peshawar nightmare ends Sunday afternoon". The Express Tribune. Retrieved 27 January 2025.
  23. ^ a b Shah, Waseem Ahmad (16 December 2012). "Peshawar in shock after airport attack". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
  24. ^ Habib, Nasir (15 December 2012). "Violence rocks Pakistan city; 9 killed". CNN. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
  25. ^ a b "Pakistan airport hit by rocket attacks". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
  26. ^ "4 killed in rockets attack in Pakistan". BBC News. 22 December 2012. Retrieved 22 December 2012.
  27. ^ "Pakistan's 'fanatical' Uzbek militants". BBC News. 7 October 2014. Retrieved 13 October 2014.
  28. ^ "9 killed in rockets attack in Pakistan". Dawn. 15 December 2012. Archived from the original on 15 December 2012. Retrieved 15 December 2012.
  29. ^ "Country Reports on Terrorism 2016 - Pakistan". Refworld. Retrieved 29 January 2025.
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