American shot dead in Pakistan

Militants linked to the Taliban and al-Qaida are top suspects in the killing.

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Gunmen shot and killed an American as he was traveling to work for a U.S.-funded aid program aimed at chipping away support for al-Qaida and Taliban militants in Pakistan’s lawless tribal regions.

Stephen Vance was killed along with his Pakistani driver in an upscale neighborhood of Peshawar, a sprawling and increasingly lawless city on the eastern edge of northwestern tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.

While there was no claim of responsibility, suspicion fell on Taliban- and al-Qaida-linked militants under fire from Pakistani military operations in the tribal areas as well as a surge in unilateral U.S. missile attacks on the region.

The border region is a possible hiding place for Osama bin Laden and al-Qaida No. 2 Ayman al-Zawahri. Militants have found a safe haven there, using it as a staging ground for attacks on U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan as well as within Pakistan.

Vance worked for CHF International, a U.S.-based aid group that was implementing American government-funded schemes to pump $750 million over five years into developing basic infrastructure such as wells and better clinics and roads in the impoverished tribal areas — which count among the least-developed regions on earth.

CHF International is also involved in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The ambush was the latest in a string of attacks targeting foreigners in Pakistan.

“It seems to be a sort of reprisal against the policies of the Pakistani government, which is considered to be supportive of the U.S. grand plan, as they [militants] see it,” said Khalid Aziz, a former top provincial administrator now advising the government on development work in the northwest.

Police said Vance was attacked as he was being driven from his home to his office in University Town, an upscale area of Peshawar where a top U.S. diplomat was attacked a few months ago.

The assailants blocked the vehicle in a narrow lane with their own car, then opened fire at close range with automatic weapons.