Gunmen have killed 10 people, including nine foreign tourists after
storming a hotel in Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
Officials say five are from Ukraine, one from Russia and three from
China. A Pakistani guide also died in the attack.
It happened at the base camp of Nanga Parbat, the world's ninth
highest mountain, in Gilgit-Baltistan.
It is the first such attack on tourists in the region. A Sunni
militant group, Jundullah, said it was responsible.
Police had at first said 10 foreign tourists had died. The motive for
the killings is not yet clear.
Reports say those killed in the attack were nine trekkers and their
Pakistani guide.
One person, said to be Chinese, has survived the attack.
Part of the Himalayan Range, Nanga Parbat, standing at 8,126m
(26,660ft), is popular with trekkers and mountaineers, especially
during June and July.
The assault is seen as a significant blow for Pakistan's already
struggling tourist industry, the BBC's Shahzeb Jillani reports from
Islamabad.
'Very remote'
The attackers, reportedly dressed in police uniforms, stormed the
hotel at the base camp in the foothills of Nanga Parbat shortly after
midnight.
"Unknown people entered a hotel where foreign tourists were staying
last night and opened fire," Ali Sher, a senior police officer, told
Reuters.
The gunmen allegedly took the foreigners' money and passports before
shooting them.
A senior official said the area, in Diamer district, had been sealed
off and police were hunting for the killers.
"Since the area is very remote with no roads or transport, their
bodies will have to be retrieved by helicopter," he said.
President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif have
condemned the attack.
Mr Sharif, who was re-elected earlier this month, said "such acts of
cruelty and inhumanity" would not be tolerated.
Meanwhile Gilgit governor Syed Mehdi Shah is set to hold a meeting
with regional law enforcement agencies on Sunday to discuss the
security situation in the area, Radio Pakistan reports.
"A lot of tourists come to this area in the summer, and our local
people work to earn money from these people," he said.
"This will not only affect our area, but will adversely affect all of Pakistan."
Correspondents say Gilgit-Baltistan, which borders China, had been
considered one of the more secure areas under Pakistani control.
However, in recent years it has suffered a spate of attacks by
militants targeting Pakistan's Shia Muslim minority.
The area is famous for its natural beauty and the main city of Gilgit
is seen as a gateway to the Karakoram and Himalayan mountain ranges.
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