Pakistani forces kill all militants involved in Gwadar attack

All the three attackers who stormed a five-star hotel in the restive Pakistani province of Balochistan on Saturday have been killed by security forces, military sources have announced.

The military confirmed in a statement on Sunday that the three gunmen had been killed in an eight-hour gunfight with security forces inside the Pearl Continental Hotel in the southwestern city of Gwadar on Saturday.

“Security forces have completed clearance operation,” the statement read.

The law enforcement forces entered the hotel and took part in a gun battle with the militants before cornering them in a staircase leading to the top floor, the military added. During the operation to clear the hotel, the forces also had to defuse explosive devices left behind by the attackers.

The military said that all guests at the hotel were safely evacuated.

The number of attackers had initially been reported four.

Elsewhere in the statement, the military said the attackers disabled CCTV cameras in the hotel and planted explosives at all access points leading to the top floor.

Gwadar resident Abdur Rahim Baloch told Reuters that intermittent firing could still be heard from the hotel on Sunday afternoon.

 At least three security guards, one member of the hotel personnel, and a navy soldier were killed and six were wounded as the assailants battled members of the security forces.

SS