Gunmen kill US embassy staffer in Pakistan

Gunmen have killed an employee of the US embassy in Islamabad.

Gunmen have killed an employee of the US Embassy in Islamabad, though a motive for the attack is still unclear, police say.

Police identified the dead employee as Iqbal Baig, saying he worked for the US Drug Enforcement Agency. They say Baig was killed early on Sunday at his home.

The US Embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Pakistani police officer Khalid Awan, who confirmed Baig's slaying, said US Embassy security officials had visited the crime scene.

Baig belonged to a minority Muslim Shi'ite sect known as the Ismaili. Ismailis largely live in peace in Sunni-dominated Pakistan, though Islamic extremists in the country view Shi'ites as heretics.

Gunmen in May shot and killed 50 Ismailis in the southern port city of Karachi.


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Source: AAP


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