Suspects arrested over tourist killings on Pakistani mountain

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ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN (BNO NEWS) -- Pakistani authorities detained nearly 40 suspects on Monday after gunmen killed 10 foreign mountaineers in the northern region of the country, officials said. The weekend attack marked one of the country's worst ever attacks on foreigners.

A total of eleven people were killed on Sunday, including ten foreigners, when a group of at least fifteen suspected militants wearing paramilitary Gilgit Scout uniforms attacked a base camp on Nanga Parbat in the Himalayas. It is one of the tallest mountains in the world, being located in the district of Diameer in Pakistan's Gilgit-Baltistan region.

Two separate groups have claimed responsibility for the attack, including the sectarian extremist group Jundullah and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The Pakistani Taliban claimed the attack was carried out by a new faction set up to specifically target foreigners in revenge for ongoing U.S. drone strikes in the region.

Pakistani security forces arrested at least 37 suspects on Monday during a massive search operation covering a number of villages in the mountainous region, but it was not immediately clear why they were considered suspects. The group was taken to an unknown location for interrogation.

Among those killed in Sunday's attack, which took place at a height of roughly 4,200 meters (13,780 feet), were victims from a total of seven countries. One was an American with dual Chinese citizenship, three were from Ukraine, two from Slovakia, two others from China, a Lithuanian, a Nepali citizen, and a Pakistani guide.

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