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| India-Pakistan |
| Pak Talibs kill 10 foreign tourists in Diamer |
| 2013-06-24 |
| [Pak Daily Times] Gunmen dressed as police potted 10 foreign tourists and a Pak in an unprecedented attack in Gilgit-Baltistan claimed by the Taliban, who said they had set up a new faction to target foreigners in Dire Revenge™ for US drone strikes. The attackers struck late on Saturday at the foot of one of the world's highest mountains, Nanga Parbat, killing climbers at a base camp in the far-flung north not previously associated with violence or militancy. The foreigners were from Ukraine, China, Slovakia, Lithuania, Nepal, while one of them was Chinese-American. The deaths call into question the future of foreign mountaineering and trekking expeditions, which provide the last vestige of international tourism in a country on the frontline of al Qaeda and Taliban violence. Officials on Sunday said one Pak was also killed while one Chinese national survived the attack, which comes just weeks after a new government took office. The climbers were staying at a base camp for Nanga Parbat, which at 8,126 metres is the second highest mountain in Pakistain and the ninth highest in the world. The base camp is at Fairy Meadows in the Diamer district of Gilgit-Baltistan, which borders China and Kashmire. "The incident took place around 10:00 pm (Saturday, 1700 GMT). They were mountaineers," Diamer police official Mohammed Naveed told AFP. "Gunmen came and opened fire on them. It is confirmed that they have been killed," he said. Six Ukrainians and three Chinese were among the dead, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar said. Ukraine's ambassador to Pakistain Vladimir Lakomov earlier told AFP that five Ukrainians were killed. Nisar said the attackers were dressed as Gilgit Scouts, a paramilitary police unit. "They kidnapped two guides and through them reached the area. One guide was killed in the shootout. One is alive. He is now jugged Book 'im, Mahmoud! and being questioned," he said. The interior minister conceded there was no security escort for foreigners in that area of the mountains. The top bureaucrat and top police official in Gilgit-Baltistan were on Sunday suspended, state TV said. Local police told AFP that the bodies of the dead were en route to Islamabad by mid-afternoon Sunday after helicopters were dispatched to the area. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 climbing is unislamic |
| Posted by: Frank G 2013-06-24 07:52 |