Pakistan's Karachi airport under attack

Heavily armed militants have attacked Pakistan's busiest airport in the southern city of Karachi, forcing the suspension of flights and the deployment of troops to repel the gunmen.

The assault has raised fears about the possibility of a prolonged siege similar to other brazen attacks on key installations in recent years.

Army spokesman Colonel Nayer said shortly after midnight on Monday morning troops had been deployed from the Malir cantonment near their airport. "They have reached the scene," he said.

A spokesman for Airport Security Force (ASF) said: "Four to five terrorists have managed to reach the runway, they are heavily armed with ammunition and grenades and ASF commandos have cordoned off the area along with police and rangers.

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"A gun battle is continuing between terrorists and forces," he added.

The spokesman said the gunmen had entered the airport by cutting through a barbed-wire fence at the airport's old terminal which is no longer used for passengers but instead has offices, workshops and hangars.

"The old terminal is attached to the runways being used for the new airport's flight operations," he added.

Senior police official Rao Muhammad Anwar earlier placed the number of attackers at "four to six", while a spokesman for the Civil Aviation Authority added all flights had been suspended.

Television footage showed plumes of smoke rising from the runway and fires where planes were parked. It had not been confirmed whether there were casualties on either side.

Earlier Pakistani security officials told the New York Times that gunmen attacked a cargo and VIP area of Karachi's international airport. 

The officials said that at least eight attackers were involved, and that the fighting was continuing early on Monday morning.

There has so far been no claim of responsibility for Sunday night's incident but similar raids in the past have been claimed by Taliban militants who rose up against the Pakistani state in 2007 in an insurgency that has claimed thousands of lives.

Security forces sealed off the airport, and flights began being diverted away from Karachi within minutes of the fighting. Witnesses saw smoke rising from the airport's old terminal, and one Pakistani news channel aired footage of at least one plane on fire nearby.

New York Times, AAP, AFP