Gunmen wearing military uniforms and wielding assault rifles and grenades attacked Pakistan's army headquarters yesterday, sparking a ferocious battle outside the capital that killed four of the assailants, two senior officers and four other soldiers, authorities said.
Two of the attackers managed to infiltrate the heavily fortified compound in the garrison-city of Rawalpindi.
Troops surrounded them and were trying to end the confrontation seven hours after the initial assault, the military said.
An Associated Press reporter at the scene heard four gunshots from inside the compound-long after an army spokesman said the situation was under control.
The audacious assault was the third major militant attack in Pakistan in a week and came as the government said it was planning an imminent offensive against militants in their strongholds in the mountains along the border with Afghanistan.
It showed that the militants retain the ability to strike at the very heart of Pakistan's security apparatus despite recent military operations against their forces and the killing of Taleban leader Baitullah Mehsud in a drone attack in August.
Pakistani media said the Taleban claimed responsibility for the attack.
Interior Minister Rehman Malik said: "We have been left no other option except to go ahead to face them."
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