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Pakistani Taliban publicly execute two 'spies'
KHAR, Pakistan (AFP) - Pakistani Taliban rebels executed two Afghans in front of thousands of people Friday after accusing them of spying, while two other people died in clashes afterwards, officials said. Militants beheaded one man and shot the other after telling the crowd in Pakistan's Bajaur tribal district that the pair had passed information to US forces in Afghanistan that led to a deadly missile strike in May. An AFP correspondent who witnessed the executions said more than 5,000 people had gathered at a patch of open ground 10 kilometres (six miles) west of Khar, the main town in Bajaur, to watch."There was a public execution by militants of two people who were kidnapped two days ago by Taliban on spying charges," a local security official told AFP. The Taliban announced the charges against the men on megaphones alleging that their activities had led to the suspected US missile strike on May 14 in which 14 people were killed."The men's faces were covered and their hands were tied. One was slaughtered with a knife amid shouts of Allahu akbar, the other was shot with a burst of fire from a Kalashnikov," the AFP correspondent said. Yeah, what's a good beheading without Allah u Akbar... After the executions the Taliban started firing in the air in jubilation, but when some shots were fired from within the crowd it sparked a brief gunbattle, witnesses said. "Firing broke out and in this incident two people were killed -- one died on the spot and one later on his way to hospital," local tribal police chief Fazal-e-Rabi told AFP. Oh, boy, Abdullah! Gun sex! Well, start shooting then! In May militants beheaded a Pakistani paramilitary soldier and dumped his corpse with a note saying that he was killed in revenge for the missile strike in the Damadola area of Bajaur. The missile strike targeted the houses of two local militant leaders, according to security officials. Violence has risen in Pakistan's northwest in recent days despite ongoing peace talks between militants and the government, with reports this week saying that the main northwestern city of Peshawar was now under threat. Yep, keep working on those peace talks... The executions came a day after US Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Pakistan's failure to put pressure on Taliban forces on the border was a "concern". Posted by: tu3031 2008-06-27 |
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