WASHINGTON (AFP) - The US aid chief said Friday he faced a threat when visiting a relief camp in flood-hit Pakistan but pledged that extremists would not deter assistance. Rajiv Shah, Administrator of the US Agency for International Development, said he quickly exited the camp he was touring in Sukkur on Wednesday at the urging of his security guards. Within a few minutes of being there, our Diplomatic Security detail informed me that there were some suspicious individuals in the area and we needed to leave. So we tried to make as graceful and appropriate an exit as possible, Rajiv Shah told reporters after returning to Washington. He said he had been speaking to women made homeless by the floods, who told him they had lost all their belongings, including even shoes, and that their children were malnourished and ill. I really did want to listen to the people standing in line and learn about how we, together with our partners, can mount the most effective response on their behalf, he said. Rajiv Shah, who believed the militants went to the camp because he was there, said it was deeply saddening that others would choose to use these environments to propagate themselves. But he insisted the US was committed to a strong and effective response in cooperation with the people of Pakistan, including helping with reconstruction once the floodwaters recede. Shortly after Rajivs visit, a group linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba said in a statement reported by a local newspaper that it was in charge of the camp and hence Shah was endorsing its activities. Rajiv denied the camp was linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba and said it was run by the United Nations World Food Programme.