China praises Pakistani armed forces for preventing Chinese casualties in Gwadar hotel attack

China on Monday praised the Pakistan's security forces for their "swift action" in neutralising the terrorists who attacked a luxury hotel in Gwadar and ensured the safety of the Chinese personnel and institutions there.

Three militants of the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), armed with automatic weapons, stormed the Pearl Continental (PC) hotel in Pakistan's port city of Gwadar on Saturday and opened random firing.

Eight persons, including four civilians, a Pakistan Navy soldier, were killed and six others were injured in the deadly attack. All three attackers were also killed by the security forces.

"China strongly condemns the terrorist attack on the Pearl Continental Hotel in Gwadar, expresses its condolences to the victims' families and the injured," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a media briefing here while answering a question on the BLA attack.

"According to China's understanding there are no reports of Chinese casualties. Pakistan's security forces took