This photo file photo shows Pakistan’s soldiers at the border post.

Pakistan's military said its forces killed nine armed men who attacked an air force training base on Saturday, with a group affiliated with the Pakistan Taliban claiming responsibility.

"All nine terrorists have been sent to hell", the military said in a statement, adding that its operation had concluded.

Three men were killed before they entered the base, and three other attackers had been "cornered/isolated", the military said earlier.

The Tehreek-e-Jihad Pakistan (TJP), a newly emerged militant group that is an affiliate of the home-grown Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) movement, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement to media.

Armed men stormed the base in the early hours of Saturday morning in the city of Mianwali, in central Punjab province, near the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa border.

"The successful operation was launched by security forces to eliminate any potential threat in the surrounding area," the military said.

"Some damage was done to three already phased out non-operational aircraft during the attack," it added, without elaborating.

Agence France-Presse