Senior Vietnamese soldier killed by subordinate

Newspapers in Vietnam say a senior military officer was shot dead by a subordinate in an army courtroom in Ho Chi Minh City on Tuesday.

The victim has been named as Colonel Vo Van Trung, the chief military prosecutor for an area covering Ho Chi Minh City and much of the Mekong River delta in southern Vietnam.

Witnesses said the alleged attacker Lieutenant-Colonel Nguyen Quang Thai also wounded another soldier before critically injuring himself in an apparent suicide attempt.

Correspondents say no clear motive for the killing has yet been established.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service