US confirms attack on consulate vehicle in Pakistan, says no American killed

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (UPDATED) – The United States confirmed that an American vehicle was attacked in the city of Peshawar in northwest Pakistan on Monday, wounding two American and two Pakistani consulate staff.

The information minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, Mian Iftikhar Hussain, insisted in the regional parliament that two Americans were also killed, without giving any further details on their identity.

A US State Department statement referred only to staff working for the US consulate in Peshawar.

Spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said no US consulate staff were killed, but said the United States was “seeking further information about other victims of this heinous act”.

“We can confirm that a vehicle belonging to the US consulate in Peshawar was hit in an apparent terrorist attack,” she said in a statement released by the embassy in Islamabad.

She said two US personnel and two Pakistani staff of the consulate were receiving medical treatment after being wounded in the attack.

“We stand ready to work with Pakistani authorities on a full investigation so that the perpetrators can be brought to justice,” she added. – Agence France-Presse