Pakistani journalist killed near Afghan border

KHAR, Pakistan, May 22 (Reuters) - Gunmen shot dead a Pakistani journalist on Thursday in the Bajaur region on the Afghan border where al Qaeda linked militants have been known to operate, his company and residents said.

Mohammad Ibrahim, a reporter with the Express News private television channel, was attacked when returning from an interview with a spokesman for Pakistani Taliban militants, they said.

"He was on a motorcycle and the gunmen sprayed bullets at him just outside Khar. They took away his camera and bike," said another reporter in the area, Sahibazada Bahasuddin, referring to the region's main town.

The motive for the attack was not clear, though journalists working on the volatile Afghan border have faced violence from both militants and authorities, press freedom groups say.

Last week, a missile attack launched by a U.S. drone aircraft killed 14 people, including some militants, in the same region. (Reporting by Mian Saeed-ur-Rehman; Writing by Kamran Haider; Editing By Robert Birsel and Alex Richardson)