Pakistani Taliban reportedly claims responsibility for Karachi airport attack

The Pakistani Taliban is taking responsibility for a five-hour attack at Karachi's Jinnah International Airport, Pakistan's busiest, that left at least 23 people dead over the course of Sunday night and Monday morning.

CNN reports that the group's commander, Abdullah Bahar, announced from an undisclosed location that the attack was in retaliation for the death of former chief Hakimullah Mehsud, who was killed in a U.S. drone stroke in November 2013.

In the attack, 10 men disguised in Airport Security Force uniforms entered a terminal at the Karachi airport, carrying machine guns and a rocket launcher. Witnesses heard heavy gunfire and explosions coming from inside the airport, and a fire eventually broke out. Qaim Ali Shah, the chief minister of Sindh province, told reporters that the 10 militants who took part in the operation "were well trained. Their plan was very well thought out." He added that they planned on destroying aircraft and buildings, but were not able to. --Catherine Garcia

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