An insurgent attack at a luxury hotel on Pakistan’s south-west coast has killed a special forces soldier, a hotel security guard and three staff members, the country’s military has said. 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 military concluded a painstaking operation to clear the hotel and defuse explosive devices left behind by the attackers on Sunday. The gunmen failed to take any guests hostage, but the hotel workers and guard were killed as the insurgents stormed the building. The military said six people, including two soldiers, were also wounded. Pakistan’s 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. The Baloch Liberation Army, a separatist group, claimed responsibility for the attack, releasing photos of what it said were the gunmen. The BLA carried out a dozen attacks last year against Chinese-linked projects. In November, the group attacked a Chinese consulate in Karachi, triggering a shootout that led to the deaths of two police officers, two civilians and all three insurgents. Beijing is financing tens of billions of dollars of projects in Pakistan and is currently helping build a modern port in Gwadar, 373 miles (600km) west of Karachi. The Pearl Continental is located near the port.<doc-sep>At least one person has been killed after gunmen stormed a luxury hotel in the Pakistan port city of Gwadar. Security forces battled four militants armed with rifles and grenades inside the five-star Pearl Continental after they attacked the building on Saturday afternoon. Officials said all four were shot dead. Most guests at the hotel – popular with foreign tourists and business people – were evacuated, but a security guard was shot and killed. Police said two other people had been wounded. It was unclear how many had been injured in total. Gwadar – which is undergoing a vast transformation as part of the $60bn China Pakistan Economic Corridor – lies in the restive province of Balochistan. World news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 World news in pictures World news in pictures 30 September 2020 Pope Francis prays with priests at the end of a limited public audience at the San Damaso courtyard in The Vatican AFP via Getty World news in pictures 29 September 2020 A girl's silhouette is seen from behind a fabric in a tent along a beach by Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip AFP via Getty World news in pictures 28 September 2020 A Chinese woman takes a photo of herself in front of a flower display dedicated to frontline health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing, China. 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Pakistan attack: Gunmen storm five-star hotel in Balochistan Published 12 May 2019 image copyright AFP image caption The Pearl Continental Hotel is popular among foreign visitors Three gunmen who stormed a five-star hotel in the restive Pakistani province of Balochistan, killing at least one guard, have been shot dead by security forces, officials say. The attack and subsequent siege, which targeted the Zaver Pearl-Continental Hotel in the strategic port city of Gwadar, lasted several hours. A hotel spokesman said there were no guests and few staff due to Ramadan. The separatist Balochistan Liberation Army said it carried out the attack. The group said that the hotel, the centrepiece of a multi-billion-dollar Chinese project, was selected in order to target Chinese and other investors. Militants in Balochistan oppose Chinese investment, saying it is of little benefit to local people. What do we know about the attack? The gunmen stormed the hotel, usually popular with top government officials and foreign visitors, at around 16:50 local time (11:50 GMT), killing at least one security guard who tried to stop them at the entrance. Security 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, officials said. Due to the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the hotel had no guests and a very limited number of staff, a Zaver Pearl-Continental spokesperson told the BBC. However, earlier reports suggested that hotel guests had been evacuated safely. media caption Fishermen say they are no longer allowed to fish near the port The hotel sits on a hilltop overlooking the Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea, which is being developed by China as part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a network of roads, railway and pipelines between the two countries. On Twitter, the Chinese embassy in Pakistan condemned the attack, which comes just weeks after gunmen killed 14 people, including 11 military personnel, in the region. A worrying breach of security Gwadar is a city with a heavy military presence. It is viewed by both Chinese and Pakistani officials as the lynchpin of the CPEC, aiming to connect western China with the Arabian Sea. When I visited the port city in late 2017 with other international journalists, we travelled in convoys guarded by armed escorts, and stayed in the same hotel that was targeted. This attack will therefore be seen as a worrying breach of security, and it is not the first time Chinese interests have been targeted by this militant group. Last year the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) carried out an attack on the Chinese consulate in Karachi. After that attack, both Pakistani and Chinese officials stressed that violence would not derail their close co-operation. But militant activity in Balochistan remains one of the major concerns about the viability of the CPEC project. What is the situation in Balochistan? Home to a long-running insurgency, Balochistan is Pakistan's poorest and least developed province. It shares a large, porous border with Afghanistan and Iran. Its economy is dominated by natural resources, particularly natural gas, and is being transformed by major Chinese infrastructure projects on the CPEC, part of the ambitious Belt and Road initiative. Several militant groups operate in the region, including the Pakistani Taliban, the BLA and the Sunni Muslim extremist group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi.