British Red Cross doctor beheaded in Pakistan

The beheaded body of a British Red Cross worker held captive in Pakistan since January was found in an orchard, with a note attached saying he was killed because no ransom was paid, police said.

Khalil Rasjed Dale, 60, was managing a health programme in the city of Quetta in south-western Pakistan when armed men seized him from a street. The identities of his captors are unknown, but the region is home to separatist and Islamist militants who have kidnapped for ransom before.

The director-general of the International Committee of the Red Cross condemned the “barbaric act”.