Nine foreign tourists shot dead in hotel in Pakistan

Peshawar: Gunmen stormed a hotel in a remote part of northern Pakistan on Sunday and killed nine foreign tourists and a Pakistani guide, police and security officials said.

Five Ukrainians, three Chinese a Russian and their guide were killed in the attack in a remote resort area near the base camp for the snow-covered Nanga Parbat mountain, a popular destination for adventurous trekkers, officials said.

"Unknown people entered a hotel where foreign tourists were staying last night and opened fire," Ali Sher, a senior police officer in Gilgit-Baltistan province, told Reuters.

Sher had earlier said 10 foreign tourists were killed, but officials revised the tally as fresh reports arrived from the area.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility.

The gunmen fled after the attack, which took place at about 1 a.m. on Sunday, Sher said.

A senior government official said a large number of security personnel had been sent to the area.

"Since the area is very remote with no roads or transport, their bodies will have to be retrieved by helicopter," the official said.

Gilgit-Baltistan, which borders China and Kashmir, had been considered one of the more secure areas of Pakistan but has witnessed a spate of attacks by militants targeting members of Pakistan's Shi'ite minority in recent years.

It was the first time foreign tourists had been attacked in the province, which is famous for its natural beauty.

Pakistan receives few foreign tourists, but a trickle of visitors are tempted by its spectacular mountain scenery in its northern areas, where the Hindu Kush and Karakoram mountain ranges converge.