Pakistan hotel cleared after deadly insurgent attack kills 5

An insurgent attack at a luxury hotel on Pakistan's southwestern coast killed five people, including a special forces soldier, a hotel security guard and three staff members, the country's military said Sunday after concluding a painstaking operation to clear the hotel and defuse explosive devices left behind by the attackers.

Pakistani residents watch from a road the five-star Pearl Continental hotel, located on a hill (top back) in the southwestern Pakistani city of Gwadar, on May 11, 2019. [Photo: AFP]

The statement clarified that three gunmen — not four as initially reported — had been killed during the eight-hour gunfight with security forces on Saturday inside the Pearl Continental hotel in the city of Gwadar.

The attackers failed to take any guests hostage, but the hotel staff and guard were killed as the insurgents stormed the building. The military said six people, including two soldiers, were also wounded.

Prime Minister Imran Khan called the attack an act of terrorism and praised the "initial response by security guards and security forces" for preventing greater loss of life.

A Baluch separatist group, the Baluch Liberation Army, claimed responsibility Saturday for the attack, releasing photos of the four insurgents who it said took part. Initially, senior security officials had said four assailants had been killed. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity as they were not authorized to speak to the media.

The attack on the Pearl Continental came weeks after Islamabad claimed that a group of militants crossed the border from neighboring Iran and killed 14 security officials when they were on their way to Gwadar in buses.

(Story includes material sourced from AP.)