A six-hour long siege at Pakistan's largest and busiest airport has left at least 28 people dead after Taliban militants stormed the cargo area on Sunday.

Violence erupted at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi around 11:30 p.m. Sunday as armed militants clashed with airport security forces in a five-hour shootout.

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Using guns, grenades and rocket launchers, the militants fought off the airport's security force, police, paramilitaries, and later commandos.

Reports say the airport experienced three large blasts which intelligence officials believe were suicide bombers detonating their explosives.

Although several large fires broke out near planes on the runway, a military spokesman later confirmed that none of the aircraft had experienced any damage from the clash.

As the dust settled from the violent outbreak, 28 people were reported dead. Out of those, 10 were militants and the others were security personnel and civilians.

The occurrence forced Jinnah International Airport to close, but authorities said it would reopen later in the day.

Pakistani Taliban commander Abdullah Bahar has claimed responsibilty for Sunday's attack saying it was in retaliation for the death of former chief Hakimullah Mehsud who was killed in a US drone strike in November.

The Pakistani government was in talks with theTaliban to end years of violence that has already killed thousands but the talks hit an impasse early this year.

The Taliban hopes to implement their austere version of Sharia law across Pakistan, making any sort of peaceful deal between the extremist group and the Pakistani government unlikely, sources state.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Sharif also released a statement saying he hoped Pakistan and the Taliban could resolve their differences via peaceful means but indicated that strong military action would be used if talks failed.

TagsPakistan Airport Attack, Taliban attacks, Karachi Airport attack