Gunmen kill 9 foreign tourists, 1 Pakistani

— Gunmen wearing police uniforms killed nine foreign tourists and one Pakistani before dawn Sunday as they were visiting one of the world's highest mountains in a remote area of northern Pakistan, officials said.

The foreigners who were killed included five Ukrainians, three Chinese and one Russian, said Pakistani Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. One Chinese tourist was rescued, he said. Earlier reports indicated 11 foreign tourists were killed.

The attack took place at the base camp of Nanga Parbat, the ninth highest mountain in the world. It's unclear if they were planning to climb the mountain or were just visiting the base camp, which is located in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan.

The shooting is likely to damage the country's struggling tourism industry. Pakistan's mountainous north - considered until now relatively safe - is one of the main attractions in a country beset with insurgency and other political instability.

The gunmen were wearing uniforms used by the Frontier Constabulary, a paramilitary police force that patrols the area, said a senior local government official. The attackers beat up the Pakistanis who were accompanying the tourists, took their money and tied them up, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

They checked the identities of the Pakistanis and shot to death one of them, possibly because he was a minority Shiite Muslim, said the official. Although Gilgit-Baltistan is a relatively peaceful area, it has experienced attacks by radical Sunni Muslims on Shiites in recent years.


No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.








The Associated Press


