QUETTA, Feb 5: A six-member team of US investigators arrived here on Thursday to probe the kidnapping of a top UN official, local police and security officials said.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) team visited the crime scene for a briefing by Pakistani officials on how John Solecki, head of the UN refugee agency in Quetta, was kidnapped in the city, a security official said.

Mr Solecki was abducted at gunpoint and his driver killed when his UN vehicle was ambushed on Monday. The incident happened near the UNHCR office.

The FBI officials came for an on-the-spot assessment, asked questions and sketched the scene, the official said. They later met the police chief of the province, Asif Nawaz Waraich, a senior police officer said.

Police and security officials refused to give further details and spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to the media.

Asked about the reported FBI involvement, the US embassy declined to speak on the subject. “I cannot comment,” spokesman Lou Fintor told AFP in Islamabad.

“We are cooperating with UN and Pakistani authorities to determine the facts,” he added, confirming only that an American working for UNHCR in Quetta had been abducted.—AFP