Unidentified Gunmen Open Fire at Pakistan's Gwadar Port, Two Attackers Killed

Unidentified gunmen opened fire at Pakistan's Gwadar port authority complex in its restive Balochistan province, Geo News reported on Wednesday.

Two attackers were killed in retaliatory firing by security personnel, the TV channel said, adding that a blast preceded the firing.

Gwadar’s deputy commissioner and police did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Gwadar is located near the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial oil shipping route in the Arabian Sea.

The deep-water port is key to the multi-billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that also encompasses roads and energy projects and is part of Chinese President Xi Jinping's Belt and Road Initiative.

China has invested heavily under its Belt and Road Initiative in mineral-rich Balochistan, including developing Gwadar, despite a decades-long separatist insurgency in the area.

Chinese targets have previously come under attack by several militant groups in Pakistan. In August, gunmen attacked a convoy of Chinese workers in Gwadar with the separatist Balochistan Liberation Army claiming responsibility for the attack.

(Reuters - Reporting by Ariba Shahid, Charlotte Greenfield and Saleem Ahmed, writing by Shilpa Jamkhandikar; Editing by YP Rajesh)