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Pakistan's man in Iraq packs for Amman

Pakistan's ambassador in Iraq was packing his bags to leave Baghdad yesterday after narrowly escaping an assassination attempt in a new insurgent tactic of targeting Muslim envoys.

In fresh violence, a policeman was killed and 10 others wounded in an attack on their patrol in eastern Baghdad and a senior police officer was wounded in a drive-by shooting in the capital, hospital and interior ministry sources said.

A roadside bomb explosion in a tunnel in the capital's busy Bab al-Shurji commercial district caused no casualties and little damage, police said.

US marines said they and Iraqi forces will "remain indefinitely" inside the town of Hit in the restive Al-Anbar province after launching an anti-insurgency operation in the area one week ago.

"The force will continue to conduct joint patrolling and stabilization operations to quell insurgent intimidation," a military statement said.

US troops continue to battle insurgents in lawless Anbar six months after the massive assault on the area's former rebel bastion of Fallujah.

Ambassador Yunis Khan meanwhile was packing his bags after Islamabad decided to relocate him to Amman following an attempt on his life on Tuesday.

"He is about to leave. It is just a temporary measure," an embassy official said.

Bahrain's top envoy to Iraq Hassan al-Ansari was also shot and wounded in an attempted kidnapping on Tuesday.

The attacks, which the Iraqi government said were aimed at undermining its sovereignty and progress, come after the shock abduction of Egypt's ambassador-designate on Saturday.

The group of al-Qaeda's frontman in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, claimed the kidnapping of Ihab al-Sharif, according to statement received by Arab television station Al-Arabiya late on Tuesday.

The station showed a copy of what it said was a brief statement making the claim, but which "carried no demands for [an eventual] liberation" of Sharif.

He was set to become the first ambassador from an Arab nation to Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein and was the first head of mission to be abducted since Iraq's hostage crisis began more than 13 months ago.

For his part, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan sharply condemned attacks on diplomats in Iraq.

In a statement released by his office, Annan said he was "deeply dismayed" by the recent attacks, which he "vehemently condemns."

The Shiite-Kurdish coalition government of Prime Minister Ibrahim Jaafari is eager to highlight the fresh support Iraq has received after the January election from many countries including once-hesitant European nations.
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