Gunmen kill 11 foreign tourists in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Gunmen killed 11 foreign tourists before dawn Sunday as they were visiting one of the world’s highest mountains in a remote area of northern Pakistan, police said.

The tourists from Russia, China and the Ukraine were shot dead at the base camp of Nanga Parbat, the ninth highest mountain in the world, said local police chief Barkat Ali. 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 police chief learned about the attack when the tourists’ local guide called the police station around 1 a.m. local time on Sunday, said Ali.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.

Pakistan is home to several insurgencies and internal conflicts but Gilgit-Baltistan is generally a peaceful area, although it has experienced some sectarian violence between Sunni and Shiite Muslims in recent years. The area is a popular destination for tourists because it includes a large number of very tall mountains in the Himalayan and Karakoram ranges, including K2, the second highest mountain in the world.