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PESHAWAR: Pakistani Taliban attacked air force base in Peshawar on Friday morning, injuring more than 25 people, including an army major and three soldiers.

The military claimed to have killed six terrorists so far while a clearance operation was under way in Pakistan's Air Force (PAF) base and its surroundings in Badaber area of Peshawar.

A group of between seven and 10 militants attacked a guard post and tried to force their way into the Badaber air base, Major General Asim Bajwa said on Twitter. A gunbattle was still underway.

Terrorists engaged, contained around guardroom area, Bajwa tweeted.

Rescue officials said that 25 injured were taken to the city's Lady Reading Hospital (LRH) and Combined Military Hospital (CMH).

Six injured were brought into hospital with three of them in critical condition, said Dr Subhani, a medical superintendent at LRH.
During cold war, the PAF base in Badaber was used by CIA for spying on former Soviet Union.

Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed the responsibility for the attack, saying that the attack was carried out in reaction to military operation against them in tribal regions.

In a statement released to the media, Mohamad Khurasani, a spokesman for the Pakistani Taliban, said they would provide details about the attackers shortly.

Television pictures showed helicopters hovering above the base while police and ambulances gathered outside.

A heavy contingent of the Quick Reaction Force (QRF) has reached the encounter site.

Security forces have sealed the area.

PM Nawaz Sharif has strongly condemned the terrorist attack in Peshawar. He is constantly being kept updated on the ongoing operation against these terrorists. He said the armed forces of the county have full support of the entire nation and soon the networks of terrorists would be eliminated from Pakistan.

The number of attacks in Pakistan has fallen dramatically this year, due to a combination of a military offensive against Taliban bases along the Afghan border and government initiatives to tackle militancy.

That follows a massacre at a military-run school last December that killed around 150 people, almost all of them children.