U.S. diplomat dies in Pakistan; suicide suspected

Mon Jan 28, 2008 9:35am EST
 
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ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Pakistani authorities found the body of a U.S. diplomat with a bullet wound in his head at his home in Islamabad on Monday and were investigating a suspected case of suicide, police and the Interior Minister said.

The U.S. embassy named the dead man as 37-year-old Keith Ryan, an immigration and customs enforcement attache from the Department of Homeland Security.

"There will be a full investigation; however, there does not appear to have been any foul play," the embassy said in a brief statement.

The embassy said Ryan had "passed away" on Monday morning, and his family had been informed.

Kaleem Imam, a Senior Superintendent of police in Islamabad, said the diplomat had been in Pakistan for a year and had been due to return to the United States on Monday, having finished his assignment.

"But, he did not come out of the home and was found dead in the bathroom. There is a bullet wound in his head," Imam said.

Ryan's body was found in his residence on a leafy avenue close to the diplomatic enclave in the Pakistani capital.

"We expect it is suicide, but we are investigating," Interior Minister Hamid Nawaz told Reuters.

The United States does not let diplomats posted to Pakistan take their families, because of the security threat posed by Islamist militants.

(Editing by Alex Richardson)

 
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