Heavy fighting has broken out at Pakistan's busiest airport after armed gunmen penetrated the security cordon,
hurling grenades and exchanging gunfire with Pakistani security forces
12.49am BST
The remaining four attackers have been killed in a gunfight, according to Asim Bajwa of the Pakistani military.
On Twitter, he said that the area has been "cleared" with no damage to aircraft:
#Kci Update:Terrorists were confined to 2 areas,and eliminated.Weapons, live ammo including RPGs,rockets recovered. Were wearing big packs
#Kci Update:Precautionary sweep after day light.Airport will be cleared by mid day for operations,handed back to CAA/ASF.Pakistan Zindabad!
12.23am BST
A Pakistani government official has told the New York Times:
The target appears to be to create panic and damage the fleet..
Karachi, Pakistans commercial hub and biggest city, has in recent years been increasingly contested by the Taliban and other militants.
Many have moved in from the countrys northwestern tribal regions and have become embroiled in the chaotic and violent political turf battles that have wracked the city.
My assessment: primary objective: was to infiltrate airport -secondary objective: was to hijack a commercial plane #KarachiAirport
12.17am BST
At least three to four determined gunmen are still putting up resistance, according to Shahzeb Jillani, a correspondent in Islamabad for BBC News.
Officials are now saying that the main terminal building, where flights from London arrive and also go to and from Manchester and other places, is secure and the focus on this gun battle is the old terminal. They are also saying that no planes have been damaged.
12.09am BST
The death toll from the attack is now being put at 18, according to local media reports. At least seven of the attackers are also dead.
12.08am BST
Anas Mallick, who was dropping a friend off at the airport, has been talking to Al Jazeera.
He and others were ushered into the nearest terminal when gunfire broke out earlier this evening.
11.58pm BST
Another update in the last 10 minutes from the Pakistani military:
#Kci Update:6 terrorists killed so far,hunt for remaining 3 to 4 holed up terrorists on.No aircraft hijacked.No passenger hurt-at 0340
11.48pm BST
One theory doing the rounds, as fighting continues, is that the attackers had planned to hijack an aircraft.
The Washington Post reports:
One senior Pakistani intelligence official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter, said some of the militants tried to hijack a plane but were unsuccessful.
Other officials said at least four terrorists were cornered near a plane and were exchanging gunfire with security personnel.
11.29pm BST
Around eight to 10 attackers were said to have engaged in a gun battle with security forces, according to Pakistan's Dawn News.
It adds that least seven of the attackers have been killed. That's in addition to the nine people whose bodies were brought to Jinnah Hospital in Karachi following the start of the fighting.
11.14pm BST
While fighting is ongoing at Jinnah International Airport, the fragile state of security in Pakistan was underscored earlier today in a separate incident in the country's southwest, where suicide bombers killed 23 Shiite pilgrims returning from Iran. According to the Associated Press:
In the suicide bombing, four bombers targeted Shiite pilgrims staying at a hotel in the town of Tuftan near the Iranian border, said Baluchistan province Home Minister Mir Sarfraz Bugti.
One bomber was killed by security officials traveling with the pilgrims, but the other three managed to get inside the hotel where they blew themselves up in an attack that also wounded 10 people, he said.
11.08pm BST
Sarmad Hussain, a Pakistan International Airlines employee, has told the Associated Press:
I was working at my office when I heard big blasts several blasts and then there were heavy gunshots.
11.06pm BST
Officials are now saying that the death toll from the fighting at the airport is least nine. Dr. Seemi Jamali from Jinnah Hospital in Karachi has told the Associated Press that nine bodies had been brought to the hospital.
She said seven were from the Airport Security Force personnel, one was an employee of the Civil Aviation Authority and another was from the state-run Pakistan International Airlines.
10.49pm BST
Nine bodies in total have been brought to Jinnah hospital since the fighting started, according to reports. That's unconfirmed so far however.
10.46pm BST
Jon Williams, ABC's Foreign Editor, suggests that the attack sets a grim new precedent :
Scale of attack on #Karachi airport unprecedented. In #Afghanistan & #Iraq, mortars fired from perimeter. Never inside wire on this scale.
10.43pm BST
Syed Saim A. Rizvi has been tweeting from inside one of the planes at the airport. Here's one of his from a little while ago:
Huge blast !!!!!! I do not know whats going on out side -- heavy firing started again - full panic on board !
10.39pm BST
A bit about the airport's background and lay-out now. It was subject to a major expansion in the 1980s when a second and third terminal was added to the one which has its roots in the airstrip which was first used in the 1930s.
An even greater expansion programme was undertaken in the mid 1990s. While Terminal Two is now largely dedicated to pilgrims on their way to the Haj in Saudi Arabia, Terminal One is the headquarters of Pakistan's Civil Aviation Authority. Terminal 3 is dedicated to commercial offices.
Wide shot of #KarachiAirport when my grandfather was there, showing the huge airship hanger. @Razarumi @TarekFatah pic.twitter.com/efEQ6LPrFi
10.30pm BST
Maryam Nawaz Sharif, the Pakistani Prime Minister's daughter, has also been tweeting on events at the airport. She says:
3 terrorists killed and 7 surrounded by security forces : PM
10.22pm BST
Security at Karachi airport has never been particularly impressive, according to the Guardian's Jon Boone.
Even with the threat level as it is from the Pakistani Taliban and other militant groups, he says that the security at Karachi airport is nowhere near the level of security found at Kabul airport in neighbouring Afghanistan.
The outer perimeter is distinctly unimpressive. It has a security force that is just responsible for guarding Pakistan's civilian airports. These men carry gadgets or rods similar to the fake bomb detectors sold notoriously by a British businessman jailed last year for selling these devices.
Not sure a factor in this attack, but last time I used Karachi airport guards still using "novelty golf ball detectors" to check cars
10.11pm BST
It has been reported that a suicide bomber has blown himself up amid the fighting.
That's according to Ali Kamran Chishti, a Karachi-based journalist.
#Kci Update:All passengers in planes evacuated to safer places. Hunt for terrorists on.3 terrorist bodies lying,ident in progress.at 0212
#Kci Update:Just spoke to Operational commander.Terrorists contained in one area,localized.JINNAH terminal secure,no plane in flames-at 0210
10.03pm BST
Reports have suggested that Farooq Sattar, a prominent leader of Pakistan's powerful Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), which has its power base in Karachi, had boarded a flight at the airport shortly before the attack.
Rob Crilly, who is based in Pakistan for the Daily Telegraph, tweets:
Have spoken to Farooq Sattar. He sounds calm but understandably concerned about being stuck on plane filled with aviation fuel
9.57pm BST
I've been talking to the Guardian's Jon Boone about this attack, who says that the last really big assault on an air installation was in 2011, when a team of about 15 attackers killed 20 personnel at a military base.
People are asking how could such an attack take place on an a such a potentially obvious target a civilian airport that is in Karachi, Pakistan's commercial hub, a city of 20 million people, one of the biggest cities in the world.
It appears that rather than attempting to go through the front, or the main civilian terminal, the attackers appear to have attacked a smaller terminal used by VIP's or pilgrims when they travel to Mecca.
9.38pm BST
Raza Rumi, a writer and policy analyst based in Pakistan, tweets a picture which he says has been taken by a passenger inside the airport:
#KarachiAirport. Pic by a passenger stuck there - M. Qasim. #Rangers can be seen. pic.twitter.com/AlcDIwwklN v @ahsannagi #Pakistan
9.19pm BST
You can read our latest story on the fighting at Karachi airport by clicking here.
The attack is ongoing at the airport in the sprawling port city on Pakistan's southern coast.
9.13pm BST
Pakistani troops are bolstering other security forces at the airport now, according to local media reports.
A senior Pakistani military officer is also tweeting updates as follows:
Update Kci:DG Rangers present at Airport,leading the operation. Corps Commander supervising it.Coordination of all those operating critical
Update Kci Airport:Army Troops moved to Airport,have started reaching.Taking positions.Proper coordination being ensured for optimum effect
9.05pm BST
So who is behind the attack? Well, just last month a major faction of the Pakistani Taliban announced it was splitting from the militant outfit following bloody clashes with a rival group since March.
Observers said the split was a victory for the Pakistani military's strategy of pitting militant factions against each other while gaining the loyalty of key commanders.
We announce our defection from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. We have chosen our Khalid Mehsud as the new leader for South Waziristan.
8.46pm BST
Heavy fighting has broken out at Pakistan's busiest airport after armed gunmen penetrated the cordon of security around the facility in Karachi, hurling grenades and exchanging gunfire with Pakistani security forces.
Smoke and flames were seen billowing from Jinnah International airport's old terminal, which was surrounded by police, who initially said that they believed up to 10 gunmen were involved in the attack.
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