Pak dockyard attackers wanted to hijack navy frigate

The Taliban militants who attacked Karachi's naval dockyard over the weekend wanted to hijack a Pakistani navy missile frigate, media reports said, even as at least 17 navy personnel have been detained for their alleged involvement in the assault.
All the 17 detained persons are either serving or former navy personnel, according to reports in local media.
"The investigators and security personnel have been able to extract plenty of important information from the four attackers who were captured during the attack that took place last Saturday," an official said.
"It seems the intention was to hijack PNS Zulfiqar [a frigate purchased from China and inducted in July 2009," the Dawn newspaper quoted a source as saying.

The Pakistani navy has so far issued only one statement on the attack carried out by the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which said it had inside help.
The report in Dawn said the details of the attack reveals the extent of radicalisation within the Pakistani navy.

"The group of would-be hijackers, led by a senior officer, was even saluted by the guard at the bottom of the gangway, before another became suspicious of their intentions and alerted other personnel," the report said.
It is believed the suspects are currently being interrogated at one of the military's interrogation centres.
According to the report, the weapons used in the attack had already been smuggled into the dockyard and had been stored in lockers by the rogue navy personnel.

Even when terrorists had attacked the Mehran naval airbase in May 2011, it was were speculated that the TTP militants had inside help.
At least six militants aided by some Pakistan Navy personnel tried to storm the dockyard last Saturday but the attempt was foiled by marine and army commandos who killed two militants, including a former navy officer who had left the service a few months ago, and captured four others.