Armed attackers attacked a luxury hotel in southwest Pakistan. One man - a security guard - was killed. "Up to four armed men invaded the Pearl Continental Hotel in Gwadar and opened the fire," said AFP provincial minister of interior Ziaullah Langu.
Reuters reports that the attackers had entrenched themselves in the building and engaged in an ongoing battle with local security forces. There are several slightly injured. The military had managed to put the attackers in a staircase to the top floor. The area is shielded over a wide area. Helicopters circled above the building.
The majority of the guests of the five-star hotel had been brought to safety, said the minister. Other information was provided by the police, who said that only personnel had been present in the building at the time of the attack.
In an e-mail message meanwhile has the liberation army Belu
The Pearl Continental Hotel is located on a hill above the harbor and is mainly visited by foreign guests. Many Chinese spend the night here, because a million-dollar Chinese infrastructure project is being built in the area.
Gwadar is located in the Pakistani unrest province Baluchistan. The port city is located on China's megaproject "New Silk Road". A "business corridor" has already been opened between the city's port on the Arabian Sea and Kashgar in the northwestern Chinese province of Xinjiang.
These include a nearly 400-kilometer-long highway from Peshawar to Karachi, due to open in 2019, an airport and hospital in Gwadar and hydroelectric power plants. Pakistan hopes to boost its economy.
However, many residents of the province feel excluded from the profits of such projects. Just three weeks ago, armed men shot and killed 14 bus passengers in Balochistan. The attack was claimed by a separatist group.