Pakistan ? Gunmen shot and killed an American as he was traveling to work for a U.S.-funded aid program aimed at chipping away support for al-Qaida and Taliban militants in Pakistan’s lawless tribal regions.

Stephen Vance was killed along with his Pakistani driver in an upscale neighborhood of Peshawar, a sprawling and increasingly lawless city on the eastern edge of northwestern tribal areas bordering Afghanistan.

While there was no claim of responsibility, suspicion fell on Taliban- and al-Qaida-linked militants under fire from Pakistani military operations in the tribal areas as well as a surge in unilateral U.S. missile attacks on the region.