ISLAMABAD // Uzbek fighters were involved in the all-night siege of Karachi airport that killed 37 people, highlighting how the Pakistani Taliban can draw on international militant networks to carry out major attacks.
The Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU), an Al Qaeda affiliate that has been mainly based in Pakistan’s tribal belt since the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, claimed the “martyrdom” of 10 of their fighters during this week’s assault.
The attack extinguished a nascent peace process and raised questions about how the Taliban were able to penetrate the airport serving Pakistan’s economic hub.
“At midnight of Monday ten brave martyrdom seeking mujaahids of Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan wearing their explosive-filled vests attacked a very special section of Karachi International Airport of Pakistan,” the English-language statement attributed to IMU said.
The statement included photographs of 10 black-turbaned fighters wearing green tunics and white trainers while carrying assault rifles, in what appeared to be a snowy mountainous region.
A Pakistani Taliban official confirmed that Uzbek fighters were involved in the attack but did not say how many.
A senior security official indicated that the group was partly Uzbek and partly Pashtun, while a second intelligence official in Karachi said the attack may have been coordinated with the help of Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, the sectarian militant outfit deeply embedded in Pakistan’s major cities.
Ten heavily armed militants laid siege to Karachi airport throughout Sunday night and the early hours of Monday morning in one of the most brazen attacks on a key installation in recent years.
Security analyst Imtiaz Gul said IMU fighters had migrated to Pakistan’s tribal areas after being forced to flee from Afghanistan following the US-led invasion.
“They have been under the protection of the Pakistani Taliban for some time. The Uzbeks are dependent on them for shelter and survival and are used as their foot soldiers in operations,” he said.
Foreign militants, mostly Uzbeks and Chechens are believed to have been involved in other major attacks in recent years.
Yesterday, Cathay Pacific Airways cancelled all flights to Karachi from Bangkok.
International flights in and out of Karachi have been suspended twice since Sunday.
In Islamabad, the prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, met security officials on Tuesday to discuss how to handle the crisis as the escalation of violence raised the prospect of an all-out army campaign against insurgent strongholds.
The Pakistani Taliban claimed the Karachi attack to avenge strikes on their positions on the Afghan border.
*Agence France-Presse
