Pakistani drug trafficker gunned down near Afghan border

Assailants armed with assault rifles ambushed a car Thursday carrying a suspected drug trafficker and six others in a northwestern Pakistani tribal region near the Afghan border, killing them all before fleeing, an official said. Authorities were investigating who was behind the attack on Musa Khan, his father Abdullah Jan and their five bodyguards in the main bazar of Wana town, said Mohammed Wasal Khan, a government official in the region. He said the attackers appeared well-trained.

Wana is the main town in South Waziristan, a remote tribal region where Pakistan has deployed thousands of troops in an effort to capture remnants of the Taliban and al-Qaida.

The region is also a transit point for opium and heroin smuggled from Afghanistan. In recent months, local pro-Taliban militants have been warning traffickers to halt their narcotics trade, according to residents. Clashes between drug and weapons smugglers are also common in the area, reports the AP. I.L.