UPDATE 1-Former Pakistani commando general shot dead

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ISLAMABAD, Nov 19 (Reuters) - Gunmen riding a motorbike shot dead a former head of Pakistani military commandos and his driver on the outskirts of the capital Islamabad on Wednesday, police said.

Security has deteriorated alarmingly in Pakistan over recent months with the military attacking al Qaeda and Taliban strongholds in the northwest while the militants have responded with attacks on security forces.

Major-General Amir Faisal Alvi, who commanded the elite Special Services Group (SSG) and retired more than two years ago, was heading towards Islamabad when his car was sprayed with bullets.

Islamist militants linked to the Taliban and al Qaeda have targeted top army leaders and security officials, but it was unclear whether the motive for Alvi's killing was militant or criminal, senior police officer Saqib Sultan said.

"It's too early to make any conclusion," Sultan said.

Militant violence began to escalate last July when army commandos stormed a radical mosque complex in Islamabad, stoking Islamist hatred towards the army, then headed by former president Gen. Pervez Musharraf, himself an ex-SSG head.

A wave of suicide bombing has since killed hundreds of people and militants have targeted security forces.

Violence subsided when a coalition government that came to power after an election last February opened talks with militants but it picked up again after their top leader, Baitullah Mehsud, suspended the talks in June.