KARACHI: Terrorists had entered the PNS Mehran base after breaching Pakistan Air Force's security parameters on the southern side, about 800 metres from the naval airbase, senior officials of Pakistan Navy said at a news briefing here on Monday.

The revelation indicates a dangerous gap of coordination in intelligence and security matters among different wings of defence services.

According to the officials, after breaching security the terrorists crossed the runway on the PAF side of the base, quickly moved towards the Mehran base and positioned themselves behind bushes and attacked the Orion aircraft parked on the tarmac, destroying two of them.

One of the officials, however, said he was not blaming the other service because that was for the inquiry committee to determine but hastened to add that even the gate of PNS Mehran was the responsibility of the PAF.

The fact that terrorists did not attack the PAF facilities and rushed towards the PNS base gave credence to the view that they had predetermined targets and were facilitated from within. But when the official was asked about any inside help the terrorists received, he said it would be premature to say anything about that.

When asked why the PN did not take appropriate security measures when there had been two attacks on its buses, he said appropriate security measures had been taken. “We were prepared but not specifically for Mehran,” he added.

He said the attackers had moved quickly, demonstrating their commando skill, and engaged Rapid Response Force personnel in intense firing, at some point forcing troops to pull back. Two terrorists moved to Fokker squadron position and the other two hid in the bushes.

When the attack started there were 11 Chinese and six American technicians on the base for helping in the maintenance of the assets. They were quickly whisked away in separate vehicles. The official said the vehicle carrying the Chinese came under attack, but the driver sped away through the hail of bullets.

Answering a question, the official said that some time after the attack Air Force personnel also moved in but they were deliberately kept on the other side of the runway for operational reasons. He praised the help rendered by Rangers and said that their APC effectively deterred the terrorists.

The official gave details of the inner and outer security cordons and posts and the Rapid Response Force. It emerged that the authorities did not expect any attack from the backyard which has marshy land and residential areas.

After the attack the authorities have cleared the bushes that provided cover to the terrorists and the PAF has blocked the overall view by placing containers in front of the parking bay. On the night of May 22, C-130 transport planes of the PAF were parked there. But the terrorists had a clear idea of the target of their attack, which was Navy's Orion aircraft.