American Aid Worker Shot and Killed In NW Province Of Pakistan

An American aid worker, a man identified as Stephen Vance, who was working in a program that was helping with development in tribal villages in the NW area of Pakistan, was gunned down in cold blood along with his driver today. This was in the same exact area where a female American diplomat narrowly escaped the same fate a number of months ago. Of course, the story here at Breitbart, which is an AP release, speaks of the murderers as "gunmen" but this is a classic Taliban style attack.

Here's some of the details:

Gunmen shot and killed an American aid worker as he traveled to work Wednesday in northwestern Pakistan, the latest in a spate of attacks on foreigners in the militancy-wracked country.
Police did not speculate on the identity of the assailants, who also killed the man's driver. But similar attacks against Pakistani security forces and foreigners have been blamed on al-Qaida- and Taliban-linked fighters, who are increasingly active in the region, which borders Afghanistan.
The shooting occurred in University Town, an upscale area of the main northwestern city of Peshawar where a top U.S. diplomat was attacked just a few months ago, police official Arshad Khan said.
Police identified the dead American as Stephen Vance, and officials said he was involved in U.S.-government funded development projects in the tribal areas next to the border.

In these kind of attacks, the Taliban-linked groups in Pakistan are known for their research on a target - they most certainly had observed Vance's patterns and lay in wait. The Taliban have always implemented the old "hide behind a rock and attack" tactic and that appears to be what happened today as Vance was killed by small arms fire. More from the article:

"Several bullets hit them, and they died in the vehicle," Khan said.
"It (the attack) was obviously well-targeted," said the foreign official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to media.

I would guess that one of these Taliban-linked groups will take credit for this attack over the next few days, although those of us in the West would wonder how any scum can do that when an unarmed individual who is working in an aid role would be a target other than his nationality.

American aid worker killed in northwest Pakistan

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) - Gunmen shot and killed an American aid worker as he traveled to work Wednesday in northwestern Pakistan, the latest in a spate of attacks on foreigners in the militancy-wracked country.
Police did not speculate on the identity of the assailants, who also killed the man's driver. But similar attacks against Pakistani security forces and foreigners have been blamed on al-Qaida- and Taliban-linked fighters, who are increasingly active in the region, which borders Afghanistan.
The shooting occurred in University Town, an upscale area of the main northwestern city of Peshawar where a top U.S. diplomat was attacked just a few months ago, police official Arshad Khan said.
Police identified the dead American as Stephen Vance, and officials said he was involved in U.S.-government funded development projects in the tribal areas next to the border.
The gunmen blocked the men's vehicle in a narrow lane with their own car, then opened fire with automatic weapons, said a Western security official in Peshawar.
"Several bullets hit them, and they died in the vehicle," Khan said.
"It (the attack) was obviously well-targeted," said the foreign official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to media.
Pockets of the northwest have become safe havens for al-Qaida and Taliban operatives involved in attacks on U.S. and NATO forces across the border in Afghanistan as well as rising violence within Pakistan.
Peshawar has not been spared the suicide bombings and shootings that are plaguing much of the rest of Pakistan, but until recently it was considered relatively safe for foreigners to live there.
In August, Lynne Tracy, the top U.S. diplomat in northwestern Pakistan, narrowly survived a gun attack on her armored vehicle in University Town.
Kidnappers are also currently holding the Afghan ambassador-designate, a Chinese engineer and a Polish surveyor. All were seized in the northwest.