Nanga Parbat attack: Attackers identified, but search continues
Ten attackers are residents of Diamer Valley, three are from Mansehra and the rest are from Kohistan.
16 militants involved in the attack have been identified. PHOTO: REUTERS/FILE
GILGIT:
Police on Wednesday said that the 16 militants involved in the killing of the 10 tourists and their Pakistani guide at the foot of the Nanga Parbat have been identified.
"All of them are locals. Ten are residents of the Diamer Valley, three are from Mansehra and the rest are from Kohistan," said police chief Usman Zakaria.
Addressing press officials in the chief minister office with chief secretary Gilgit Baltistan Munir Ahmad Badini, Zakaria said that it's a breakthrough for the law enforcing agencies who have been working tirelessly to resolve the case.
"There are reports that the assailants had been trained in FATA and had ties with certain banned militant outfits," said chief secretary G-B.
The names of the outfits will become known once the culprits are caught and investigated, he said.
"We also want to give credit to Diamer Jirga who proved instrumental in identifying the militants,” Badini said, adding that the militants were still in the valley and believed to be in groups of two of three.
Zakaria said that members of the jirga were flown in via army helicopters so that they could help divulge information related to the location of the accused.
Gunmen dressed as paramilitary forces killed 10 foreign tourists on June 23 in an unprecedented attack in the Himalayas of Gilgit-Baltistan. The gunmen stormed into a base camp, killing Chinese and Ukrainian climbers in an area of the far-flung north not previously associated with violence or militancy.
Police on Wednesday said that the 16 militants involved in the killing of the 10 tourists and their Pakistani guide at the foot of the Nanga Parbat have been identified.
"All of them are locals. Ten are residents of the Diamer Valley, three are from Mansehra and the rest are from Kohistan," said police chief Usman Zakaria.
Addressing press officials in the chief minister office with chief secretary Gilgit Baltistan Munir Ahmad Badini, Zakaria said that it's a breakthrough for the law enforcing agencies who have been working tirelessly to resolve the case.
"There are reports that the assailants had been trained in FATA and had ties with certain banned militant outfits," said chief secretary G-B.
The names of the outfits will become known once the culprits are caught and investigated, he said.
"We also want to give credit to Diamer Jirga who proved instrumental in identifying the militants,” Badini said, adding that the militants were still in the valley and believed to be in groups of two of three.
Zakaria said that members of the jirga were flown in via army helicopters so that they could help divulge information related to the location of the accused.
Gunmen dressed as paramilitary forces killed 10 foreign tourists on June 23 in an unprecedented attack in the Himalayas of Gilgit-Baltistan. The gunmen stormed into a base camp, killing Chinese and Ukrainian climbers in an area of the far-flung north not previously associated with violence or militancy.