Pak envoy in Iraq packs his bags

In fresh violence, a policeman was killed and 10 others wounded in an attack on their patrol in eastern Baghdad and a senior police officer was wounded in a drive by shooting in the capital, hospital and interior ministry sources said.

A roadside bomb explosion in a tunnel in the capital's busy Bab al-Shurji commercial district caused no casualties and little damage, police said.

US marines said they and Iraqi forces will "remain indefinitely" inside the town of Hit in the restive Al-Anbar province after launching an anti-insurgency operation in the area one week ago.

"The force will continue to conduct joint patrolling and stabilisation operations to quell insurgent intimidation," said a military statement.

US troops continue to battle insurgents in lawless Anbar six months after the massive assault on the area's former rebel bastion of Fallujah.

Ambassador Yunis Khan meanwhile was packing his bags after Islamabad decided to relocate him to Amman following an attempt on his life Tuesday.

"He is about to leave," an emba-ssy official told AFP. "It is just a temporary measure."

Bahrain's top envoy to Iraq Hassan al-Ansari was also shot and wounded in an attempted kidnapping Tuesday.

The attacks, which the Iraqi government said were aimed at undermining its sovereignty and progress, come after the shock abduction of Egypt's ambassador-designate on Saturday.

The group of Al-Qaeda's frontman in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, claimed the kidnapping of Ihab al-Sharif, according to statement received by Arab television station Al-Arabiya late Tuesday.