PAKISTANI troops regained control of a Karachi airport today after a night raid by the Taliban left several militants and least 18 other people dead.

Ten militants disguised as security forces stormed Jinnah International Airport armed with machine guns and rocket launchers.

At least three set off their suicide vests, officials said, and the others were killed in the course of a five-hour battle with security forces.

Police said they had dried fruit and water in their backpacks, apparently preparing for a long siege.

A Taliban statement said the assault on the southern airport was revenge for the killing of its leader in a US drone strike last November.

The brazen assault will be another nail in the coffin of the fading prospect that government-led peace talks would soon resume.

In recent weeks, the Taliban called off the ceasefire it declared during negotiations and Pakistani troops responded with air strikes in the north-west that have killed dozens of militants but also numerous civilians.

The airport attackers arrived in two minivans on Sunday night and worked in two groups.

One created a diversion at the Fokker gate while the other stormed the cargo terminal, police said.

Senior police officer Raja Umar Khattab said the militants had fired rockets at passenger planes but missed, adding: “It seems there was some ill-planning on their part.”

Pakistan’s elite paramilitary rangers chief Rizwan Akhtar said no aircraft had been damaged in the assault but a cargo building was left completely gutted by fire and explosions.

The civil aviation authority said security forces had handed over control of the airport yesterday morning, though smoke could still be seen billowing from the terminal.

Mr Akhtar said that some of the dead fighters “seemed to be Uzbeks” but officials were still investigating the attackers’ identities.

Authorities often blame militant attacks on foreigners hiding in lawless areas on the borders to launch strikes alongside the Pakistani Taliban.

Taliban spokesman Shahidullah Shahid said the siege had been planned before the peace talks, but was put on hold to allow them to go ahead. He warned of more attacks to come.