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• Pakistani Taliban claim responsibility for ‘revenge’ raid • Ten military personnel killed in long gunfight Pakistani commandos regained control of a military base in central Karachi on Monday, ending an audacious 18-hour militant assault that killed 10 soldiers, destroyed two sensitive aircraft and dealt a humiliating blow to the army three weeks after the raid that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. Flames glowed over Pakistan’s largest city amid a cacophony of gunfire and explosions as up to six heavily-armed militants wreaked havoc until Monday lunchtime inside the Mehran base, just off a major thoroughfare. Six American military contractors and 11 Chinese nationals were present but escaped unharmed, officials said. The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility, describing the attack as “revenge for the martyrdom of Osama bin Laden”. But analysts said a smaller jihadi group could also have been involved. Displaying pictures of the dead attackers on his mobile phone, the interior minister, Rehman Malik, called on Pakistanis to unite against the Taliban and al-Qaida. “I regret that some of us believe they are our friends and are praying for them. I appeal to the nation to consider who is the real enemy,” he said. The sophistication of the assault, the duration of the siege and the attackers’ apparent knowledge of the base raised fears about the weaknesses in Pakistan’s military defences and stoked worries that the attackers had received inside information. The military is still reeling from the 2 May US raid on Bin Laden’s compound in Abbottabad, 35 miles north of Islamabad, fending off uncomfortable questions from Pakistanis about its defensive capabilities, as well as intense public anger towards the US incursion. Malik said the militants, armed with rifles and grenade launchers, approached the base from the Malir river, which runs behind it. Using wire cutters and a ladder, they scaled the perimeter fence and continued to the main base by exploiting a blind spot in surveillance camera coverage, suggesting detailed knowledge of the base layout. They headed straight for the aircraft hangars, where they fired rockets that destroyed a helicopter and two of the navy’s four Orion P-3C surveillance planes, valued at $36m (£22m) each. The Orions are a key part of Pakistan’s maritime defence and carry anti-submarine missiles that could be used against any Indian sea incursion. The US embassy, which initially denied any Americans were on the base, later confirmed that six contractors were present to service the Orions, two of which had been delivered last June . Dozens of navy commandos and army rangers responded to the incursion, triggering a gunfight that continued through Sunday night until Monday lunchtime. Commuters grew alarmed as they travelled to work amid bursts of gunfire from the bases and screaming ambulances that rushed in and out the main gate. Malik said 10 military personnel died in the operation – the army earlier said 13 were killed – including one sailor, two rangers, three firemen and three naval commandos. He paid special tribute to Lieutenant Syed Yaser Abbas who led the response force. “He sacrificed his life to save the assets of the Pakistan army,” he said. A Facebook memorial page has already been set up as a tribute to the dead lieutenant. Pictures of other slain soldiers – fresh-faced men in their early 20s, mostly – quickly surfaced through Twitter and on television channels. The security forces eventually cornered the assailants in one building, where at least three died, one in a suicide explosion. The navy said two other attackers were thought to have escaped. Malik claimed the assault had been planned in the Taliban heartland of Waziristan but did not specify how he knew this. He said the militants were in their early- to mid-20s, with trim beards, fair skin and “sharp features”. Oddly, he compared them to “characters out of a Star Wars movie”. It was the third major attack since Bin Laden’s death, following suicide bombings that killed 90 military recruits and targeted an American convoy in Peshawar. The fact that such a small team could hold commandos at bay for 18 hours caused widespread shock, raising fresh questions about the security of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal, believed to be scattered at secret bases across the country. Pakistan’s prime minister, Yusuf Raza Gilani, condemned the attack as a “cowardly act of terror”. But in a further sign of the confused debate on terrorism, several television commentators, many of them retired generals, claimed the raid was sponsored by a “foreign hand” – a euphemism for India, Israel or the US. Meanwhile in Afghanistan, the Afghan Taliban denied media reports that its leader Mullah Omar had been killed in Pakistan. “The esteemed Amir ul Momineen [leader of the faithful] is alive and well and is leading the mujahideen in all aspects,” said spokesman Zabiullah Mujahid. An Afghan intelligence official later told reporters that Omar had been arrested in Pakistan’s tribal belt. Pakistani intelligence said they had no information about Omar’s whereabouts. In Pakistan’s tribal belt, a US drone struck a vehicle near the Afghan border, killing four people, the latest in a surge of drone strikes since Bin Laden’s death. Pakistan Taliban Afghanistan Global terrorism Declan Walsh guardian.co.uk