Balochistan rape mystery deepens

Eight people died in the tribal attack on the Sui gas plant

DNA samples taken from the scene of the gang rape of a doctor in the Pakistani town of Sui do not match those of the suspects, officials say.

The victim will now be asked to identify the rapists from video and audio recordings of the 13 suspects, the local police chief has said.

The rape incident sparked violence that killed eight in the country's troubled southern province of Balochistan.

The suspects include regular and paramilitary troops.

The videos that contain photographs of all the suspects, including a captain of the Pakistan army, will be shown to the complainant immediately after the Shia mourning month of Moharram, police officials said.

Correspondents say that the alleged involvement of an army officer in the doctor's rape in December had fuelled the unrest in Balochistan.

The doctor was working in a hospital run by Pakistan Petroleum Limited which has a huge gas plant in Sui - home to Pakistan's largest natural gas reserves.

A military spokesman in Quetta, the provincial capital, said the captain was being held by the military authorities pending further progress in the case.