Pathankot attack: Two terrorists still in hiding in air men's residential buildings

"The terrorists again opened fire on our columns close to mid-day and were engaged...these terrorists were holed up in a double-storeyed building which was the living accommodation of air force personnel," NDTV quoted a senior Army officer as saying. 

An NSG officer aid all families and personnel are safe and "all strategic assets at the airbase have been secured." The Pathankot air force base houses nearly 1,500 families.

The officers described the situation at the base as "under control" and said the operation to eliminate the remaining terrorists was in its final stages.

Heavy firing was heard since Monday morning from inside the air base, where a gunbattle has been on since two teams of terrorists attacked it on Saturday morning. 

Five terrorists have reportedly been killed, though the body of one of them is yet to be recovered.

Seven security personnel have been martyred. The funerals of three martyrs were held on Monday. Lt Col Niranjan Kumar of the NSG will be cremated tomorrow in in his home-town Palakkad.

The terrorists are believed to have crossed over into India on the intervening night of December 30-31. They entered the air force base sometime between January 1 and 2.

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.