The Pakistani Prime Minister escaped an assassination attempt yesterday when suspected Islamic militants opened fire on a government motorcade only three days before crucial presidential elections.

The ambush took place hours after 20 people, including women and children, were killed when US-led forces attacked a Pakistani border village, sparking protests that the raid was an assault on the country's sovereignty.

Gunmen fired on the motorcade as it was on its way to Islamabad airport to pick up Yousaf Raza Gilani, the Prime Minister, who was returning from Lahore. He was not in the convoy. Footage showed a black Mercedes with two bullet marks clearly visible on the driver's window. The glass was cracked but intact.

An independent television station said that Taleban militants fighting Pakistani forces in the Swat valley, in northern Pakistan, had claimed responsibility. On Tuesday the same group kidnapped two Chinese engineers in the area. The attack will add to the fears of Pakistan's political allies that the only Muslim nuclear power is plagued by instability and increased militant violence.

Tension is high before the election on Saturday, which is expected to be won by Asif Ali Zardari, the leader of the ruling Pakistan People's Party and widower of Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated in December.

The raid on the border village of Musa Nikow, in South Waziristan, was reportedly spearheaded by US-led coalition forces based in Afghanistan.

US forces in Afghanistan have attacked suspected al-Qaeda hideouts inside Pakistan's tribal areas regularly, using missiles and Predator drones, but yesterday's incident was the first time that coalition ground troops had crossed into Pakistani territory. The village lies across the border from Birmal, in Paktika province, Afghanistan, where there is a US airbase.

Residents said that three helicopters transported soldiers to the area - described by Pakistani and Western security officials as a sanctuary for al-Qaeda and the Taleban - and several houses were raided. Ahmed Mukhtar, the Defence Minister of Pakistan, said that Nato aircraft also attacked three houses.

Pakistani authorities were furious. “It is outrageous,” Owais Ahmed Ghani, the Governor of the North West Frontier Province, said in a statement. “This is a direct assault on the sovereignty of Pakistan, and the people of Pakistan expect that the armed forces ... would rise to defend the sovereignty of the country and give a befitting reply.”

Major-General Athar Abbas, the chief military spokesman, said the Government had not been informed by Nato of any planned attack.

Villagers said that several bodies lay outside two of the raided homes. They had been shot in the head.

A Pakistani TV network quoted residents as saying that two foreign soldiers had been wounded in an exchange of fire with residents.

The incident - which took place two days after Pakistani authorities suspended military operations against militants during the holy month of Ramadan - has heightened tension between the US and Pakistan.

Pakistan is a key US ally in its war on terrorism, but relations between the two countries have been strained over cross-border attacks, including suspected US missile strikes.

In one incident this year, 11 Pakistani soldiers died when US jets bombed their border post.

Pakistan is increasingly concerned that US operations are becoming more aggressive in areas bordering Afghanistan. Missile attacks launched from Predator drones have increased in number, and yesterday's raid will raise fears that US forces are increasingly prepared to carry out “hot pursuit” attacks on al-Qaeda targets without respecting national borders.

LEADERS WHO DIED

Nawabzada Liaquat Ali Khan
Pakistan’s first Prime Minister after independence in 1947 was shot twice at a public meeting in 1951

Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Leader from 1971, he was toppled in a coup in 1977, accused of conspiracy to murder a political opponent, tried and hanged in 1979

General Zia-ul-Haq
Died when an aircraft in which he was travelling with the US Ambassador exploded in 1988. Conspiracy theories abound

Benazir Bhutto
Eldest daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, and Prime Minister 1988-1990 and 1993-1996. Assassinated when a bomb was detonated next to her armoured vehicle at a campaign rally in December 2007 Source: Times archives

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