Second attack on Karachi airport ends, Pakistani Taliban claims responsibility

Colonel Tahir Ali told reporters that the two gunmen involved in Tuesday's attack had escaped.

"It was not such a big attack, two people came towards the ASF checkpost and started firing," he said.

"They ran away after the firing and because we are on high alert, under the standard operating procedure we called in (paramilitary) rangers and the army."

The Pakistani Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack.

"Today's attack on ASF in Karachi is in response to the bombardment on innocent people in Tirah Valley and other tribal areas. We will continue such attacks," Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said.

A spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority said Karachi airport had resumed flights after a brief suspension.

Pakistan's army said it had redeployed troops to reinforce security forces at the airport.

Another security official at the scene told AFP that the attack involved around 10 militants.

A Reuters correspondent near the airport of Pakistan's commercial capital heard gunfire and saw at least four ambulances rushing to the scene.

Pakistani television reported that three militants had been surrounded by security forces at the academy.

On Sunday night (local time), 10 Taliban militants disguised as security force members and armed with rocket-propelled grenades stormed the airport.

The assault has destroyed prospects for peace talks between the government of prime minister Nawaz Sharif and the Pakistan Taliban.

Earlier on Tuesday, Pakistan's air force bombed Taliban positions near the Afghan border, killing at least 15 militants.

"Nine terrorist hideouts were destroyed by early-morning military air strikes near the Pakistan-Afghan border," the army's press wing said.

It was unclear if the air strikes signalled the start of a broader offensive in the North Waziristan region where the Al Qaeda-linked Taliban are based or if they had been carried out in retaliation for the airport attack.

PHOTO: Pakistani security personnel arrive at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi on June 8, 2014. (AFP: Asif Hassan)

Bodies of Karachi airport workers found

Meanwhile, rescue workers have recovered the bodies of seven more people who were trapped inside a cargo building at Karachi airport.

"The bodies are badly charred beyond identification," said a morgue official who declined to be identified.

The discovery brings the death toll from the attack to at least 34 people.

Airport officials say the victims took refuge in the cargo shed to hide from the gunfire but became trapped when the building caught fire at the height of the battle.

"They (security forces) were busy killing militants and clearing the area, nobody bothered to rescue these trapped men," said Abdul Rehman whose brother was among those killed.

"They could have been saved if timely rescue efforts had been made."

The Pakistan Taliban says it carried out the assault in revenge for the killing of its leader in an American drone strike last year.