ISLAMABAD, Oct 14: Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Sherpao said here on Thursday that the commando operation to rescue the hostages held by militants in Chagmalai had been taken as 'a last resort' to save the Chinese engineers.

"When security personnel heard the sound of firing from inside the (kidnappers') hideout, they stormed the place, killing all five kidnappers. Chinese engineer Wang Peng received injuries but could not survive," the minister said at a press conference.

The engineer was injured in the kidnappers' firing, according to a press release issued by the Inter Services Public Relations. His body was brought to Islamabad by a helicopter in the evening and handed over to the Chinese embassy.

When the interior minister visited the embassy to offer condolences, Chinese Ambassador Zhang Chunxiang said that "although it was quite tragic incident, I assure you that it would not affect the longstanding Pakistan-China friendship."

He said China would continue its economic activities in Pakistan and it would continue to support all development projects being executed with the assistance of Chinese experts.

However, the Ambassador asked for additional security for all Chinese personnel working on various projects in Pakistan. Mr Chunxiang said he was well aware of the efforts made by the government and security forces of Pakistan to save the lives of the Chinese engineers. "But unfortunately, one of the Chinese hostages could not be rescued," he said.

Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmud Kasuri also called on the ambassador and conveyed condolences on behalf of President Gen Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz.

The ISPR press release said the security forces had rescued both the Chinese engineers but one of them later succumbed to the injuries he had received from the kidnappers' firing. Though the identity of the kidnappers was yet to be confirmed, the interior minister said: "They appeared to be Uzbeks and Kandaharis (Afghans)".