American Kidnapped in Pakistan

Gunmen abducted an American after breaking into his house in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore today, officials said, an unusually brazen raid that illustrated the threat to foreigners living in the militancy-wracked country. The US Embassy identified the victim as Warren Weinstein. A man by that name serves as the Pakistan country director for JE Austin Associates, a development contractor that works with the aid arm of the American government, according to a profile on LinkedIn.

According to Pakistani police, between eight and 10 assailants broke into the Weinstein's house in an upscale neighborhood in Lahore after persuading the guards to open the gate by saying they wanted to give them food—an act of sharing common during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The American, believed to be in his 60s, had returned to Lahore the previous night from Islamabad. He was expecting to wrap up his latest project and move out of the house, which apparently doubled as an office, by Monday, senior police official Ghulam Mahmood Dogar said. Dogar didn't specify the type of project. Weinstein's company's website says he was in charge of a program that has been trying to help strengthen the competitiveness of various Pakistani industries. (More Warren Weinstein stories.)