Two Journalists Shot In Pakistan Attack

Japanese Reporter, Pakistani Freelancer Who Works With CBS News, Wounded In 3rd Attack In As Many Days In Frontier City

(CBS/AP)  A Japanese journalist was shot Friday in the frontier city of Peshawar — the third attack on a foreigner there in three days, and missiles apparently fired by U.S. unmanned aircraft near the Afghan border killed at least 12 people, including several foreign militants, Pakistani officials said.

The Japanese journalist was traveling with a Pakistani assistant in a car in Peshawar when gunmen opened fire, said police officer Mohammed Khan. He was identified as Motoki Yotsukura from the Asahi Shimbun newspaper.

The CBS News London bureau says the Pakistani was Sami Yousafzai, a freelance Pakistani journalist who is a regular contributor to CBSNews.com. He was shot once in the hand and once in the chest. The bullet exited his back or side and struck no major organs. Yousafzai spoke briefly with CBS News staffers, saying he was "okay" and that none of the bullets was "in a dangerous place."

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CBSNews.com's Tucker Reals blogs on his friendship with Sami Yousafzai

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Khan said Yotsukura was wounded in the leg. It was unclear how serious his assistant's injuries were. No other information was immediately available.

The United States has launched a surge in cross-border missile strikes over the last two months, part of a spiral of violence across northwestern Pakistan that includes a Pakistan army offensive against Taliban and al Qaeda militants and a wave of retaliatory suicide bombings.

Friday's attack happened in North Waziristan, a Pakistani tribal region and stronghold of Taliban and al Qaeda fighters suspected of mounting attacks on U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

Three Pakistani intelligence officials told The Associated Press that at least two missiles hit a house in Ghari Wam, a village about 18 miles from the frontier, early Friday morning.

Two officials said the death toll was 12, including several suspected foreign militants. Their exact identity was not immediately clear. Taliban gunmen had cordoned the area and removed the bodies, one official said.

Another official put the toll at 13 and said that 10 of them were foreigners.

The officials cited reports from agents and informants in the area and the different tallies could not be reconciled immediately. They asked for anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media.

Washington rarely confirms or denies involvement in the attacks.

Security appears to be crumbling in Peshawar, a strategically vital city and a hub for Western-funded relief work in the region, where extremists have found a firm foothold among an impoverished and isolated population.

Gunmen abducted an Iranian diplomat in Peshawar on Thursday, a day after an American aid worker was ambushed and killed in the city.

[earache4]

Film at eleven?
Posted by DeckardBR at 04:03 PM

Nope, camera got shot too....

[questionnews]

we will gladly turn bush over for war crimes if someone wants to start proceedings.he deserves to stand trial for everything he has done.Bush ,Cheney , and Rumsfeld are the true axis of evil and need to be brought to trial for their crimes against the world.

Posted by tincup356 at 07:11 AM : Nov 14, 2008

OK. Every time this "War Crimes" thing comes up I ask for someone---anyone to provide a code, statute, ordinance, law code, anything so that I can go look up the specific "crime" that he committed and so far all I get is more Bla-Bla Bush this & Bla-Bla Bush that and then nothing. I am really interested in finding out what specific law he broke, but unless I can get a reference number or something I can look up, it just seems unsubstantiated accusations.

[earache4]

Bet they got some neat pictures...

[get_it_str8]

Journalists got shot... Hey look there''s a pretty cloud.

[conscious2]

These are calls for help we all know well. "Kill or wound the Journalist because our shots will be heard around the world". (Yes, Shots not words) "Strike hard against extremist and let them know that we won%u2019t stand for their violence". (Yes, Careless destruction, not law and order). There are no solutions being offered here. Hatred has obscured our focus on who we are and what we wish to become. I implore the world; do not die like this, not this way. A requirement for life must be established soon, a right to be heard must be offered to all. It%u2019s become obvious that we feel that killing has become necessary to establish peace. The killing will grow, not diminish because we are trying to force someone to do something and they don%u2019t understand what we want. I don%u2019t care if these people are uneducated; I don%u2019t care whose fault it is; these acts are like oxymoron%u2019s being used without thought.

It''s a start. Nobody asked them to be there. They saw an opportunity to get their 15 minutes of fame. They sought immortality. They got it. What were their names again?

[tincup356]

we will gladly turn bush over for war crimes if someone wants to start proceedings.he deserves to stand trial for everything he has done.Bush ,Cheney , and Rumsfeld are the true axis of evil and need to be brought to trial for their crimes against the world.

[earache4]

How many more countries does Amerikastan have to invade to get credit for starting World War III?