Bahrain's top diplomat in Iraq was wounded in an ambush Tuesday and the Pakistani ambassador narrowly escaped assassination as insurgents targeted Muslim envoys in an apparent new tactic.

Three days after the abduction of Egypt's envoy, the Iraqi government's spokesman said the attacks are a ``a message of terror'' to dissuade governments from expanding ties with Baghdad.

Pakistani ambassador Yunis Khan said two cars came up from behind and fired on his vehicle as he was about a kilometer from his residence in the capital's central Mansur district. ``We sped out of danger,'' Khan said, ``but it was an extremely dangerous situation.''

An embassy official said there had been a firefight between Khan's guards and the attackers. ``The guards were quick to take precautionary measures,'' he said.

Khan was appointed in mid-April and was accepted as ambassador in mid-June, according to the official. ``This is a new thing that we have to confront,'' said the official.

Earlier, gunmen aboard a pickup truck opened fire on Hassan al-Ansari, the Bahraini charge d'affaires, while he was traveling in his car with diplomatic license plates also in Mansur, an interior ministry source said.

Ansari was treated at Yarmuk hospital for gunshot wounds before leaving with guards. Witnesses said he was ambushed by at least eight gunmen after leaving his residence.

Two men screamed at Ansari for him to get out of his car, a local butcher said, but the diplomat kept going. Two of the men shot at him with an assault rifle and pistol, he said.

Ansari's car slowed down, but when the men ran after him he accelerated and managed to get away.

Two hundred meters farther on, Ansari stopped near a policeman and cried out: ``I am a diplomat, help me!'' The policeman surnamed Adel said ``he was bleeding a lot. His suit, case and car were covered with blood.''

Neither the rich Gulf kingdom of Bahrain nor Pakistan have contributed troops to the US-led coalition in Iraq to make them obvious targets of insurgents. Still, Bahrain is home to a large US naval base, and Pakistan has been a strong backer of Washington's ``war on terror.''

Meanwhile, no group has yet claimed responsibility for abducting Egypt's Ihab al-Sharif, who was set to become the first ambassador from an Arab nation to Iraq since the fall of Saddam Hussein. Sharif was also the first head of mission to be abducted since Iraq's hostage crisis began.

Iraqi government spokesman Leith Kubba expressed surprise that Sharif was traveling in Baghdad without much protection and said that his security may have been compromised by contacts he may have had with political groups with ties to insurgents.

Kubba also said that the targeting of foreign diplomats is part of a calculated effort by insurgents to discourage countries from dealing with the Iraqi government.

``No doubt it is negative and we condemn it,'' he said, ``but in the big scheme of things it will not affect our progress.''