Gunmen kill nine tourists in Pakistan

Gunmen wearing police uniforms killed nine foreign tourists and one Pakistani before dawn today as they were visiting one of the world's highest mountains in a remote area of northern Pakistan, officials said.

The foreigners who were killed included five Ukrainians, three Chinese and one Russian, said Pakistani Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. One Chinese tourist was rescued, he said. Earlier reports indicated 11 foreign tourists were killed.

The attack took place at the base camp of Nanga Parbat, the ninth highest mountain in the world. It's unclear if they were planning to climb the mountain or were just visiting the base camp, which is located in the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan.

The shooting is likely to damage the country's struggling tourism industry. Pakistan's mountainous north - considered until now relatively safe - is one of the main attractions in a country beset with insurgency and other political instability.

The gunmen were wearing uniforms used by the Frontier Constabulary, a paramilitary police force that patrols the area, said a senior local government official. The attackers beat up the Pakistanis who were accompanying the tourists, took their money and tied them up, said the official.

They checked the identities of the Pakistanis and shot to death one of them, possibly because he was a minority Shiite Muslim, said the official. Although Gilgit-Baltistan is a relatively peaceful area, it has experienced attacks by radical Sunni Muslims on Shiites in recent years.

The attackers took the money and passports from the foreigners and then gunned them down, said the official. It's unclear how the Chinese tourist who was rescued managed to avoid being killed.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Many foreign tourists stay away from Pakistan because of the perceived danger of visiting a country that is home to a large number of Islamic militant groups, such as the Taliban and al Qaida, which mostly reside in the northwest near the Afghan border. But a relatively small number of intrepid foreigners visit Gilgit-Baltistan during the summer to marvel at the peaks of the Himalayan and Karakoram ranges, including K2, the second highest mountain in the world.

Syed Mehdi Shah, the chief minister of Gilgit-Baltistan, condemned the attack and expressed fear that it would seriously damage the region's tourism industry.

"A lot of tourists come to this area in the summer, and our local people work to earn money from these people," said Mr Shah. "This will not only affect our area, but will adversely affect all of Pakistan."