India: Troops still battling gunmen at Pathankot airbase

Indian troops are still battling gunmen a day after Pathankot airbase was raided by six armed assailants. Indian authorities and reports have been giving conflicting statements over the clashes with many believing all the attackers had been killed and operations ended on Saturday.

On Sunday morning, a blast and gunfire indicated that the fighting was ongoing and continued into the evening. India's Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi, said that two gunmen were thought to be still at large.

The airbase is located 25km away from the Pakistani border and is also close to the disputed region of Kashmir.

Six gunmen dressed in military uniforms burst into the base on Saturday morning – seven Indian soldiers are known to have been killed, along with four of the attackers. Some have suggested that the attackers belong to militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed, an Islamist group fighting to separate Kashmir from India, but this has not been confirmed.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Saturday: "Enemies of humanity who can't see India progress, such elements attacked in Pathankot but our security forces did not let them succeed." On Sunday evening, after landing in Delhi, he tweeted that he is holding a "high-level meeting with the NSA, Foreign Secretary & other officials".

The attack comes just over a week after Modi landed in Pakistan for a surprise visit and meeting with Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Pakistan's foreign ministry have condemned the attack.

Indian and Pakistan both lay claim over Kashmir and each administer parts of the region, the dispute has been a hot topic for relations between the two countries for decades.