New York, February 7, 2005—Gunmen in Pakistan’s tribal area of South Waziristan fatally shot two journalists today and wounded two others. Amir Nowab, also known as Mir Nawab, a freelance cameraman for Associated Press Television News and a reporter for the Frontier Post newspaper, and Allah Noor, who was working for Peshawar-based Khyber TV, became the first journalists in 2005 to be killed in the line of duty.
The journalists were on their way back from the town of Sararogha, where they were covering the surrender of suspected tribal militant Baitullah Mehsud.
A car overtook the journalists’ bus at around 7:30 p.m. near the town of Wana, and assailants opened fire with AK-47 assault rifles, according to The Associated Press, which quoted Mahmood Shah, chief of security for Pakistan’s tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.
Anwar Shakir, a stringer for Agence France-Presse, was wounded in the back and is in stable condition, according to news reports. A fourth reporter, Zardad Khan, who was working for Al-Jazeera, was not seriously injured.
The Pakistani military has been cracking down on suspected al-Qaeda fighters in South Waziristan, a semiautonomous tribal region.
