3 Killed in Consulate in Pakistan

An explosion at Macedonia’s consular offices Thursday and the slaying of three people whose bodies were found inside may have been the work of Al Qaeda taking revenge for the killing of seven militant suspects in the Macedonian capital, police said.

Investigators found messages scrawled on a wall referring to Al Qaeda and warning against “infidels.” The victims -- two men and a woman -- had their hands and feet bound and their throats slit.

The Macedonian Foreign Ministry called the assault “a professionally prepared terrorist attack” and instructed its embassies and consular offices worldwide to boost security. In a statement, the ministry also expressed “strong bitterness and deep condolences for the victims,” all believed to be Pakistani.

No one claimed responsibility for the killings or the explosion.

The scrawled messages, written in Pakistan’s Urdu language, could signal Al Qaeda’s involvement, but they also could have been written by someone who was trying to divert investigators’ attention, said Tariq Jamil, Karachi’s deputy police chief.

Counter-terrorism police were investigating the possibility the slayings and subsequent explosion may have been in retaliation for the killing of seven Pakistanis in Macedonia on March 2.

Macedonian police opened fire on a van that tried to drive through a roadblock in the capital, Skopje, killing seven Pakistanis inside. Police said they found seven Kalashnikov assault rifles, hand grenades and ammunition in the van. Officials said the seven had planned attacks on Western embassies.