Gunmen kill two officials in Pakistan tribal region

MIRANSHAH, Pakistan - Gunmen killed two government officials on Monday in an ambush in Pakistan's tribal belt, near the Afghan border where al Qaeda-linked militants are believed to be hiding, a witness said.

The attack took place while the two officials were patrolling a bazaar in Miranshah, the main town in the North Waziristan region. Two of the officials' guards and two passers-by were wounded.

No one claimed responsibility, but in the past authorities have blamed such assaults on al Qaeda-linked guerrillas hiding in the region after fleeing from neighbouring Afghanistan.

Hundreds of people have been killed in clashes between security forces and militants in the rugged Waziristan region in the past 18 months. Waziristan is about 400 km (250 miles) northwest of the Pakistani capital Islamabad.

- REUTERS