Gunmen attack luxury hotel in Pakistan’s Gwadar port city, hub of a multibillion-dollar Chinese infrastructure project
- A group of attackers opened fire at the Pearl Continental hotel in Gwadar, where China is developing a multibillion-dollar port
- Most of the hotel guests were evacuated in time, but a few people sustained minor injuries, said a minister
Gunmen stormed a luxury hotel Saturday in Pakistan’s southwestern port city of Gwadar, killing at least one guard and battling security forces for hours after all guests were evacuated. Four attackers were killed, officials said.
A regional separatist group, the Baluch Liberation Army, claimed responsibility for the attack in a statement. Gwadar’s commercial and political profile has been raised as the hub of a multibillion-dollar Chinese infrastructure project.
The same group claimed responsibility for an attack on the Chinese embassy in Karachi in November last year and another assault on Chinese engineers in the Baloch district of Chagai.
“All four of the terrorists have been killed,” said a senior security official told The Associated Press after security forces cornered the attackers inside the Pearl Continental Hotel.
The army spokesman office said the militants attempted to enter the hotel and opened fire on guards. It said all guests had been safely evacuated.
The attack came just weeks after 14 members of Pakistan’s armed forces were attacked and killed while travelling on a highway near Ormara, an area in the same region. That attack was claimed by militants linked to another regional separatist movement.
