Pearl murder suspect dies in shoot-out

An Islamic militant wanted in connection with the abduction and beheading of American journalist Daniel Pearl was killed in a police raid in Karachi today.

Asim Ghafoor died after a shoot-out with Pakistan police and intelligence agents as they tried to arrest him at a hideout, said Deputy Inspector General Javed Shah Bokhari.

Ghafoor, who is a Pakistani, opened fire as he tried to flee but was wounded when police returned fire, and later died in a hospital, Bokhari said.

It was not clear what role Ghafoor might have played in the kidnapping and murder of Pearl, a Wall Street Journal correspondent who disappeared in Karachi in January 2002 while researching a story on Islamic militancy in Pakistan.

His execution was videotaped and his remains were found in May that year in a shallow grave on the eastern outskirts of the city.

Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, a British-born Islamic militant, has been sentenced to death for his role in the kidnapping and murder.