Pakistani Taliban Attack Navy Dockyard

The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility on Tuesday for an attack last week on a naval dockyard in the country's south, in which at least one official was killed.

The attack came against the backdrop of a full-scale operation launched by Pakistan's military against Taliban militants in the lawless region of North Waziristan after a deadly June attack on the airport in the city of Karachi.

On Saturday, militants attacked a naval construction and repair facility, located in a secure area near Karachi Shipyard. The Taliban said in an announcement on Monday that it had the help of insiders in carrying out the attack.

"Navy insiders supported and helped us in carrying out the attack," Pakistani Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid told Reuters by telephone from an unknown location.

At least two militants were killed and four were captured during a six-hour battle, media reported. One navy personnel member was also killed, while six soldiers and an officer were wounded. No material loss took place.

According to BBC News, this latest attack fuels the particular concern of a wave of radicalization in the lower ranks of the Pakistan Navy, where anti-Americanism and sympathy for extremism and the Afghan jihad is said to have grown in recent years. Security experts have long feared the possible penetration of jihadi groups into Pakistan's armed forces, especially the navy.

Initial news of the attack was apparently withheld from the media because of its sensitivity.