Thirteen die in Pakistan attack

At least 13 people have been killed after unidentified gunmen entered the house of a senior government official in north-western Pakistan, police say.

The home of Amiruddin, government representative in the autonomous Khyber tribal area, was attacked with rockets and hand grenades in the early morning.

Police say Mr Amiruddin survived but several of his relatives died.

Tank is the gateway to the South Waziristan tribal region, where al-Qaeda and the Taleban are strong.

District police officer Mumtaz Zareen said it would be "premature to name elements behind the attack".

Reports quoted witnesses as saying that the gunmen had stormed the house and asked the people staying there about the official's whereabouts.

Anarchy

When they did not find the official, they went on a shooting spree in the house, reports say.

Last year, incursions by Taleban militants into Tank led to a total collapse of the civil administration in the district.

The police there abandoned their posts, and banks have been told to arrange their own security.

The BBC's Ilyas Khan, who visited Tank recently, says the situation in the southern districts of North West Frontier Province (NWFP) is unmistakably sliding into anarchy.

Tank has been the worst hit, and is as good as lost to the militants, our correspondent says.