( dpa ) - Unknown gunmen on Friday shot dead an intelligence officer while bodies of three soldiers who died in clashes with pro-Taliban militants some weeks ago were recovered in north-west Pakistan, officials said.
The assailants, who were riding on a car, opened fire at Khaliqur Rehamn, the head of Intelligence Bureau in Charsadda district of North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), as he was on his way home after prayer, a police official Gul Zeb Khan said.
"The miscreants managed to flee after the attack," he added.
Pakistan's NWFP province has seen intensified attacks against the security forces over the last one year, leaving hundreds of people dead.
But there has been a brief lull in the activities of pro-Taliban militants as the newly elected government vowed last month to hold talks with the rebels in country's tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.
Separately, government forces recovered the bodies of three soldiers who died during a military operation against the militant commander Baitullah Mehsud two months ago in tribal district of South Waziristan.
"The bodies were lying in the mountains of Mkeen area for weeks and the government forces could not go there because Mehsud's men had control over the region," a security official told Deutsche Presse- Agentur dpa on condition of anonymity.
But Taliban handed over the bodies of two paramilitary troops and a military personnel to the local government officials on Friday, he added.
Mehsud is believed to have close links with Taliban fighters and al-Qaeda terrorists who fled to the area after US-led forces invaded Afghanistan in 2001. They use the lawless area to launch cross border attacks on international forces in Afghanistan.
Pakistan has deployed more than 90,000 soldiers to contain their activities.