10 climbers killed at Nanga Parbat base camp

Some bizarre news out of Pakistan yesterday:

9 mountain climbers were shot to death on Sunday at 1am while at a 15,000-foot base camp en route to climb 26,660-foot Nanga Parbat, Earth’s 9th tallest mountain.

One American, two Chinese, one Russian, five Ukrainians, a local guide, & one Pakistani security guard are reported to have been killed by around 12 Pakistani Taliban militants.  All of the foreigners were part of an expedition that was in Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan region to climb 26,660-foot Nanga Parbat.

Islamic militants disguised as policemen killed 10 foreign climbers and a Pakistani guide in a brazen overnight raid against their campsite at the base of one of the world's tallest mountains in northern Pakistan, officials said.

The Pakistani Taliban claimed it carried out the attack at Nanga Parbat to avenge the death of their deputy leader in a U.S. drone strike last month.

The area has largely been peaceful, hundreds of kilometers (miles) from the Taliban's major sanctuaries along the Afghan border. But the militant group, which has been waging a bloody insurgency against the government for years, has shown it has the ability to strike almost anywhere in the country.

The Taliban began their attack by abducting two local guides to take them to the remote base camp in Gilgit-Baltisan, said Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan. One guide was killed, and the other has been detained for questioning. The attackers disguised themselves by wearing uniforms used by the Gilgit Scouts, a paramilitary force that patrols the area, Khan said.

Around 15 gunmen attacked the camp at around 11 p.m. Saturday, said the Alpine Club of Pakistan, which spoke with the surviving guide, Sawal Faqir. They began by beating the mountaineers and taking away any mobile and satellite phones they could find, as well as everyone's money, said the club in a statement.

Some climbers and guides were able to run away, but those that weren't were shot dead, said the club. Faqir was able to hide a satellite phone and eventually used it to notify authorities of the attack.