Red Cross staff kidnapped in Pakistan
January 5th, 2012 - 9:39 pm ICT by IANS
Islamabad, Jan 5 (IANS) A British member of the international aid organisation Red Cross was Thursday abducted in the southern Pakistani city of Quetta.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has closed six of its offices in the country after the incident.
The abduction took place around 11.00 a.m. when Khalil, a doctor with ICRC, was on his way to his office in his Land Cruiser, Xinhua quoted the local Urdu channel Ary TV as saying. Witnesses said there were six armed abductors.
Quetta Police have launched a search after the kidnapping.
Khalil, a British national of Yemeni origin, had joined the organisation about two years ago.
Top Quetta police officer Faisal Mahmood said police have beefed up security for foreigners in the city after the abduction.
Sources say the ICRC staffer might have been kidnapped by the Taliban and his chances of survival were slim.
Earlier in the day, the militant group had announced the killing of 15 Pakistani troopers after they were abducted in the northwestern part of the country last month.
In July last year, a Swiss couple was kidnapped near Quetta. Their whereabouts are still unknown.
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Tags: abducted, abduction, abductors, british member, cross icrc, cross staff, foreigners, international aid organisation, international committee, land cruiser, militant group, pakistan islamabad, police officer, red cross, staffer, survival, swiss couple, taliban, xinhua