Gunmen kidnap Iranian diplomat in Pakistani city

Islamabad: Gunmen kidnapped an Iranian diplomat and killed his guard in Pakistan's northwestern city of Peshawar on Thursday, police said, the latest violence against foreigners in the volatile region.

The diplomat, identified as Hashmatullah Atharzadeh , was heading from his home to his office with his guard when his car was ambushed in Hayatabad, a neighbourhood near Khyber tribal region where Al Qaida and Taliban militants as well as criminal gangs are very active.

"I confirm that the commercial attache of the Iranian consulate is abducted and his guard has been shot dead," police official Noor Zar told reporters.

The abduction came a day after killing of a US aid official outside his home in the city.

Peshawar is the last city on the road to the Khyber Pass, the main land route to Afghanistan.