Gunmen attack hotel in Pakistan's Gwadar, kill security guard

By Asad Hashim

Pakistan's military says three attackers storm Pearl Continental Hotel in port city, killing at least one person.

Gunmen have stormed a five-star hotel in Pakistan's port city of Gwadar, killing at least one person, according to the military. In a statement, Pakistan's military said three armed men killed a security guard as they attempted to enter the Pearl Continental hotel on Saturday in the southern city. Security forces surrounded the attackers in a staircase leading to the top floor of the building, it said, adding that a security operation to clear the area was ongoing. There were conflicting reports about additional casualties. Zia Langove, the provincial home minister, said initial reports indicated some people at the hotel had been wounded in firing on the premises.

The military, however, said that all guests at the hotel, which has 114 rooms, were safely evacuated.

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA), an ethnic Baloch separatist group fighting for independence for Balochistan province, claimed responsibility for the attack saying that four fighters were involved.

"Our fighters have carried out this attack on Chinese and other foreign investors who were staying in PC hotel," said Jihand Baloch, a BLA spokesperson, in a statement emailed to Al Jazeera.Gwadar is the site of a major port built as the culmination of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a trade corridor that links southwestern China to the Arabian Sea through Pakistan.The $60bn CPEC project has seen massive investment in infrastructure across Pakistan, including major roads and the Gwadar port in Balochistan province.

Recent days have seen an uptick in violence in the province, with ethnic Baloch separatist groups ramping up attacks against security forces and civilians.

On Thursday, at least five people were killed when BLA gunmen attacked a coal mine in the Harnai district of Balochistan. The BLA and other armed groups have been fighting Pakistani security forces for more than a decade, demanding independence for the ethnic Baloch areas of Balochistan province, which they claim has been neglected by the Pakistani state and exploited for its mineral resources.

Balochistan, located in southwestern Pakistan, is the country's largest but least populated province, with rich deposits of natural gas, coal, metals and minerals.

Rights groups allege that Pakistani security forces have abducted hundreds of pro-freedom Baloch political activists and fighters in their fight to quell the rebellion. Last month, an alliance of Baloch separatist groups ambushed a passenger bus en route from Gwadar to Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, killing at least 14 people.