An attack on an Indian air base that the home ministry had said was contained is, in fact, ongoing.
Operations to “eliminate” two remaining militants were “possibly … in the final stages,” a National Security Guard official said at a press conference at the Pathankot airbase, near the border with Pakistan, where on Saturday a number of militants stormed the secure military site.
Four militants and seven security personnel were killed Saturday. A civilian was also killed during the attack, an official said Saturday.
Indian Home Minister Rajnath Singh had previously announced on Twitter that all the attackers were dead. The tweet has since been removed.
The attack sparked what CNN’s partner in India, CNN-IBN, described as a 15-hour gunfight at the base, which the network said houses fighter jets and attack helicopters.
Officials said they had received intelligence about a possible attack and had beefed up security at the air field and repulsed the attackers before they reached any sensitive areas.
The Indian government official earlier said security forces had killed four of the attackers, adding that one was believed holed up in the facility.
“Through timely and prompt action by all agencies, the likely plan of the terrorists to destroy valuable assets of the Air Force has been foiled,” the Indian Defense Ministry had said in a statement at the time.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack.
As the attack continues, authorities in New Delhi have also ramped up security.
“We are taking all precautionary measures. Security has been tightened,” Rajan Bhagat, the city’s police spokesman, said Monday.
In a Twitter post, Delhi’s police commissioner B.S. Bassi advised residents to immediately report suspicious activity, people and objects to authorities.