Reporter shot dead in troubled Pakistani tribal area

KHAR, Pakistan - A journalist was shot dead by unknown gunmen after he interviewed a spokesman for local pro-Taleban in a Pakistan tribal area bordering Afghanistan, officials and witnesses said Friday.
Muhammad Ibrahim, 44, a reporter for Urdu language Express newspaper, was killed Thursday evening as he was returning to Khar after interviewing Tehreek-e-Taleban Pakistan (Pakistan Taleban Movement) spokesman Maulvi Omar, they said.
Khar is the main town of restive Bajaur tribal district, where pro-Taleban militants are active.
Tribal administration official, Muwaz Khan, confirmed the killing, saying no one had claimed responsibility.
Witnesses said Ibrahim was travelling on his motorcycle when he was intercepted by unidentified men in a black car who snatched his cell phone, camera and notes and then shot him.
The gunmen also stole Ibrahim's motorcycle, residents said.
Bajaur chief of Tehreek-e-Taleban Pakistan, Maulvi Faqir Muhammad -- also a deputy of Al Qaeda linked militant commander Baitullah Mehsud -- condemned the incident.
Muhammad and Omar visited Ibrahim's home late Thursday to express their grief over the killing, residents said.
The local press club also condemned the murder, with journalists saying they would hold a protest later Friday.