Attack on Pakistan's main airport leaves 24 dead

Smoke rises from the burning site of Jinnah International Airport after an assault in Karachi on late June 8, 2014. - AFP

KARACHI, June 09, 2014  - Heavily armed militants launched an assault on Pakistan's busiest airport in the southern city of Karachi, leaving at least 24 dead including 10 militants in a six-hour siege that the army quelled at dawn on Monday.

The group also carried out a raid on Pakistan's military headquarters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi in 2009, leaving 23 dead including 11 troops and three hostages. The airport assault will cast attention on the government's controversial decision to negotiate with the Taliban instead of using greater force to deal with them.