Pakistani Journalist Found Shot to Death

By: A Pakistani journalist who reported on a U.S. airstrike that killed an al-Qaida operative was found shot to death in a remote tribal region Friday six months after vanishing, his brother and a government official said.

The body of Hayatullah Khan was found by villagers dumped in the tribal-dominated North Waziristan town of Mir Ali, from where he was abducted Dec. 5, Ahsan Ullah told The Associated Press.

Ullah said local authorities informed him of the discovery of his brother's body.

Khan disappeared days after photographing shrapnel from a Hellfire missile allegedly fired by an American unmanned warplane to target wanted al-Qaida figure Hamza Rabia in Mir Ali.

Khan's photograph contradicted official Pakistani claims that the Egyptian-born Rabia had died in a bomb-making accident.

"We found the body of Hayatullah Khan today near Mir Ali, and we have informed his family about it," said Fida Mohammed, a local official.

Khan, in his mid-30s, had been handcuffed and shot once in the back, Mohammed said. It was unclear when he was killed but it appeared to be recently, he said.

The body has been returned to his relatives, who took it to their village near Mir Ali, Mohammed added.

It was unclear who Khan's killers were, but in January a Pakistani government official claimed Islamic militants may have abducted him.

The New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists, citing Khan's colleagues, has said he was probably kidnapped by local authorities ? which the government denies.

Pakistan is a close U.S. ally in its war on terror and past American missile strikes inside Pakistani territory have sparked mass protests across this deeply Islamic country and spurred criticism of Islamabad's ties with Washington.