Image copyrightReutersImage caption Helicopters have been called in (file picture)
Gunmen have attacked an Indian air force base near the border with Pakistan, officials say.
Gunfire is being heard from inside the Pathankot air force base and army commando units and helicopters have been called in.
Two attackers were killed, said Indian Defence Ministry spokesman Nitin Wakankar.
Officials say a hijacked police car was used in the attack and the gunmen were wearing Indian army uniforms.
The incident comes just days after the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Pakistani counterpart, Nawaz Sharif, met in Lahore to launch a surprise peace initiative.
Militant allegation
The attack was launched at about 03:30 (22:00 GMT Friday) by four or five assailants, according to local news sources.
The surviving attackers are now holed up in buildings on the base.
"They are heavily armed and the attack is aimed to cause maximum damage to the equipment at the station but we have been successful so far," said an unnamed security official quoted by the Agence France-Presse news agency.
"We believe they are Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists."
The Jaish-e-Mohammed militant group is based in Indian-administered Kashmir and opposes Indian rule there.
India says the group is backed by Pakistan, but Islamabad denies this.
In August seven people were killed when gunmen stormed a police station in nearby Gurdaspur district.
The three attackers in Gurdaspur were killed after a 12-hour standoff with police.
Pathankot air force base is about 430km (270 miles) north of the Indian capital, Delhi.
It lies on the road linking Indian-administered Kashmir with the rest of the country, near to the border with Pakistan.
Indian-administered Kashmir has seen a long-running insurgency against rule from Delhi, and Kashmir has been a flashpoint in relations between Pakistan and India for nearly 70 years since independence.
Image copyright Reuters 
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