In Pakistan, one of two Chinese hostages was killed and the other wounded during a rescue operation. Militants linked to the al-Qaida terror network kidnapped two Chinese engineers on Saturday in the border region of South Waziristan.
Pakistani authorities immediately surrounded the militants' hideout, where the Chinese were being held. Local tribal elders talked to the kidnappers on behalf of the government, trying to secure the release of the hostages.
But military spokesman Major-General Shaukat Sultan says those efforts did not succeed. "The security forces stormed the compound. All five abductors were killed," he said. "One Chinese engineer is absolutely safe."
The Islamic militants were demanding an end to anti-terrorism military operations in the region, where scores of al-Qaida suspects are believed to have taken shelter, after fleeing a U.S-led hunt across the border in Afghanistan.