Day 3 of Pathankot Operations Begins With Heavy Gunfire: 10 Developments

                                        
PATHANKOT:  Heavy gunfire has been heard from inside the Pathankot air base in Punjab, where the operation against holed in terrorists entered its third day. So far, five terrorists have been killed, but at least one is suspected to be alive. The seven security personnel, who have been martyred in the operation, will be cremated today.
Operations at the air base, where terrorists had launched a pre-dawn attack on Saturday, had continued overnight.
Investigations show that there is a very strong possibility that the terrorists had entered the air base in two groups, sources told NDTV.  
Four terrorists had hijacked the car of a Punjab police officer, and had abandoned it near the base. The presence of more than five terrorists proves the others came separately, sources said.
Lieutenant Colonel Niranjan Kumar of the National Security Guard, who died during combing operations on Sunday, will be cremated today in his home town in Kerala's Palakkad. Funerals of Champion shooter Subedar Fateh Singh and the others will also be held.
The Air Force has said two terrorists are holed up at the base -- from where Russian-made MiG-21 fighter jets and Mi-35 attack helicopters fly. One terrorist was killed on Sunday, though there is no official confirmation since the body is yet to be found.
On Sunday evening, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a meeting with the National Security Adviser, foreign secretary and other officials to discuss the situation in Pathankot.
Foreign minister Sushma Swaraj met a group of diplomats to chalk out a strategy on Pakistan. Coming a week after PM Modi's "spontaneous" visit to Pakistan, the attack has triggered a debate over ties with the neighbouring country.