WASHINGTON, March 1: The United States said on Friday that it was still not clear if those who attacked the US Consulate in Karachi belonged to Al Qaeda or Chechen rebel groups.

“We cannot do all the tie-ins yet, as the matter is still under investigation,” State Department spokesman Richard Boucher told a briefing in Washington.

Extending “deepest sympathies” to the families of the policemen killed and to those injured, Mr Boucher said: “These were Pakistanis not only serving their nation, but also helping protect a US facility.”

“Whatever the intent of these people who shot them, they ended up killing and wounding Pakistani Muslim civilians, fathers, brothers. Anyway, it’s very sad, and we appreciate the fact that the people were there protecting us,” said the spokesman.

He said there was no damage to the consulate itself.

The assailant, he said, made no attempt to enter the consulate grounds and the shooting was some 50 metres away.

Mr Boucher confirmed that Pakistani authorities had arrested an Afghan suspect. The US consulate, he said, was working very closely with Pakistani authorities to investigate these attacks.

He said the consulate in Karachi dealt with outsiders by appointment and had not been open to the general public since last August following a decision by the Pakistani authorities to reopen two-way traffic on the street near it.