Khar (Pakistan), April 20 (Reuters): Pakistani security forces today shot dead a militant named by officials as an al Qaida member believed to have escaped a US air strike in January.

Officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the dead man was Abu Marwan, a Saudi Arabian.

Military spokesman Major General Shaukat Sultan confirmed the shooting in the town of Khar but said he had no details of the man’s identity other than that he appeared to be a foreigner. The militant tried to escape when security forces stopped a minibus to check passengers.

“He opened fire and killed one security man and wounded another,” Sultan added. “He was an explosives expert,” an intelligence official said.