Today’s Headlines: Asia Edition
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NEW DELHI — At least four gunmen were killed in an attack at an Indian Air Force base that began early Saturday near the border with Pakistan in Pathankot, Punjab, the police said.
Gunmen entered the base and exchanged fire with security forces inside around 3:30 a.m., said Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, a senior police official based in Amritsar. As of Saturday evening, a military operation against the gunmen remaining in the base was still underway, the Defense Ministry said.
Mr. Singh did not confirm a report from the Press Trust of India news agency that three members of the security forces had also been killed, but Home Minister Rajnath Singh said in a Twitter message that security personnel had died.
It was unclear who was behind the assault. But there had been intelligence reports of a likely attack in the Pathankot area, and the attackers were seen on aerial surveillance when they entered the base, the Defense Ministry statement said.
The attack came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India made an impromptu trip to Pakistan to meet Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif on Dec. 25, the first such visit in almost 12 years. The meeting was seen as a step toward the resumption of a stalled dialogue between the countries.
Terrorist attacks on security forces and military bases are unusual in Punjab, and more often seen in the border state of Jammu and Kashmir, which is north of Punjab and has a persistent insurgency. India has long accused Pakistan of supporting militants in the region.
Mr. Singh, the minister, said on Saturday that India wanted peace with Pakistan, but also said that “if there is any terror attack on India, we will give a befitting reply.”
In July, gunmen wearing Indian Army uniforms opened fire on a civilian bus and then took over a police station in the Gurdaspur district of Punjab.
Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Saturday’s attack in a statement.