Kidnapped British Red Cross worker's body dumped by roadside

British aid worker has been murdered in Pakistan four months after being kidnapped, in an attack which has provoked alarm within the international aid community.
Khalil Dale, who worked for the International Committee of the Red Cross, was taken hostage in Quetta, in south-west Pakistan in January.

British officials had been working behind the scenes for his release, but police found his body on Sunday by the roadside in the Pakistani city which has become a haven for members of the Taliban in exile and other militant groups.
William Hague, the UK foreign secretary, said: “I utterly condemn the kidnapping and killing of Mr Dale, and send my deepest condolences to his family and loved ones as they come to terms with their tragic and distressing loss.
“This was a senseless and cruel act, targeting someone whose role was to help the people of Pakistan, and causing immeasurable pain to those who knew Mr Dale.”
Mr Dale was kidnapped from his car while returning home from work four months ago. ICRC insiders say it was a professional operation, and that he and his organisation had been deliberately targeted.


Mr Dale was managing a health programme in the city of Quetta in southwestern Pakistan when armed men dragged him from his clearly-marked car just 200 yards from his Red Cross office on January 15.


He had been travelling back from visiting a school with a Pakistani doctor and a driver, who were not seized.


Foreign Secretary William Hague condemned the killing and sent his deepest condolences to Mr Dale’s family.


He added: “This was a senseless and cruel act, targeting someone whose role was to help the people of Pakistan, and causing immeasurable pain to those who knew Mr Dale.


“My thoughts are with them, and with all those who have dedicated their lives to assisting the world’s most vulnerable people through the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.”

Mr Dale had worked for the Red Cross for many years and previously been posted in Somalia, Afghanistan and Iraq.


He began his career as a casualty nurse in a hospital before working on oil rigs in the North Sea as a medic.


He had been in Quetta for almost a year when he was abducted.


His body was found in an orchard in a plastic bag with a white label with his name written on in black marker pen.