Miranshah- Gunmen shot dead a pro-government tribal elder and two others in a drive-by shooting in a restive Pakistani tribal region near the Afghan border, officials said.
The Chashma Pul area, five kilometres (miles) south of Miranshah, the main town in North Waziristan, is known as a stronghold of Taliban and Al-Qaeda linked militants.
"Malik Qadir Khan was travelling to his village when four gunmen riding a car opened fire on his vehicle killing him and two others," a local administration official told on condition of anonymity.
He said Khan's guard opened retaliatory fire, killing one of the attackers before fleeing. A local intelligence official confirmed the attack. Nobody immediately claimed responsibility but attacks on pro-government tribal elders by militants across northwest Pakistan and the lawless tribal belt are not uncommon. Washington calls the area the most dangerous place in the world.