* Notes attached to bodies threaten similar fate for ‘others spying for United States’

MIRANSHAH: Terrorists killed seven people across North Waziristan Agency on Sunday on suspicion of spying for the US.

Five bodies were found in Kum Sarobi, one in Norak and another in Haihur.

Notes attached to the bodies read “anyone spying for the US will meet the same fate”.

“All seven people appeared to have been killed last night and hand-written notes were attached to the bodies, claiming they were American spies,” a security official in Miranshah told Reuters by telephone.

An intelligence official and local tribesmen confirmed the incidents, AFP reported.

Militants frequently kidnap and kill tribesmen, accusing them of spying for the government or US forces operating across the border in Afghanistan, where Taliban are leading an insurgency.

A volley of drone strikes this month, all in North Waziristan Agency, has the Taliban and the Haqqani network, known for staging attacks on US and NATO troops in Afghanistan.

More than 740 people have been killed in about 80 US drone strikes in the country since August 2008.

Pakistan Army launched a major ground offensive in South Waziristan Agency in mid-October, triggering a wave of retaliatory violence, mainly suicide bombings, killing more than 600 people.

The rugged tribal regions have been beset by violence since hundreds of Taliban and Al Qaeda militants fled across the border to escape the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001. Washington says the tribal regions, where security forces are battling militants, have become a safe haven for extremists. staff report/agencies

Daily Times

Jan 25, 2010

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