Gunmen attacked luxury hotel in Pakistan: a dead man

One person was killed in an attack by at least three armed men in a luxury hotel in Baluchistan province, southwest Pakistan, where gunfire continues with security forces.

The attack on Pearl Continental hotel, heavily guarded and located in the coastal town of Gwadar, began around 4:45 pm (23:45). EFE a district police officer, Nasir Ali.

The Army Information Office (ISPR) said in a statement that the deadly victim is a hotel keeper who tried to stop the "three terrorists" responsible for the attack.

"Terrorists opened fire on Pearl Continental security guard, who died"said the source.

The residents of this five-star hotel "have been evacuated to a safe place"And security forces cordoned off the area, said the ISPR, before adding that"the terrorists were surrounded by security forces on a staircase leading to the top floor"

A group called Baloutchis Liberation Army, which seeks the independence of Balochistan, claimed the attack on the social network Twitter, in an account opened last April in which there are barely seven messages.

"Our fighters perpetrated this attack against Chinese and international investors who were in the PC hotel (Pearl Continental)," the group said.

In a new message, the Balochi Liberation Army shared a photo with the alleged attackers in which they see four armed men, dressed in military fatigues and wearing the group's red, green and blue flag.

The same group of insurgents had already claimed last November an attack against a Chinese consulate in the port city of Karachi, in southern Pakistan, which had resulted in the death of the three attackers.

China is very active in Pakistan because of the Sino-Pakistan Economic Corridor Project (CPEC), a multi-million dollar infrastructure project funded by Beijing with a $ 60 billion investment.

The CPEC, launched in 2015, is funding the construction of a trade route that will connect Xinjiang Province, northwest China, to the Pakistani port of Gwadar, where the hotel is under attack on Saturday.

Baluchistan, the largest and least populated Asian country, is the scene of regular attacks by secessionist groups, as well as armed Islamist groups and mafia networks operating throughout the country, making it the only country in the world. one of the most unstable and uncertain of the country.

Last month, also in Baluchistan, a group of armed men shot dead 14 people after stopping the buses in which they were traveling and look at their identity cards.

Among the dead, mainly civilians, there was a Pakistani naval officer and a coast guard.