(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-01-01 19:27

An American diplomat and his driver were shot to death Tuesday in the Sudanese capital, the US Embassy said, a day after a joint African Union-United Nations force took over peacekeeping in Sudan's Darfur region.

It was not immediately known if the motive for the attack was political or a random crime.

"This afternoon, the American officer succumbed to his injuries and passed away," said Walter Braunohler, the spokesman at the US Embassy in Khartoum.

Braunohler said the diplomat, whose name was not released, worked for the US Agency for International Development.

The Sudanese Foreign Ministry identified the wounded American as a humanitarian aid official and said he was shot five times in the hand, shoulder and belly. The diplomat underwent surgery following the attack, according to the ministry's statement.

The ministry identified the Sudanese driver who was killed as 40-year-old Abdel Rahman Abbas and said the attack occurred around 4 am local time as the car was heading to a western suburb of Sudan's capital, Khartoum.

Both US and Sudanese officials said they were investigating but could not yet provide details on the circumstances surrounding the attack.

Crime is fairly high in Khartoum, Sudan's capital, although much lower than in other east African cities like Nairobi, Kenya.