Taliban kills two 'US spies' in Pakistan tribal area

Taliban militants shot dead two men in Pakistan's lawless tribal belt on the border with Afghanistan after accusing them of spying for the United States, a local official said Friday.

The incident took place in Miranshah, the main town in the restive North Waziristan, which is a known stronghold of Al Qaeda and Taliban insurgents, tribal security official Said Ahmad Khan told AFP.

The victims were identified as Aalm Pir and the second only by one name, Khan. Their bodies were found dumped at a bus stop in Miranshah early Friday with a note saying "they were killed because they were spying for Americans", Khan said.

The note warned no one to touch the bodies before noon, he said.

The men were probably shot overnight as people living nearby heard gunfire, the official added.

Militants routinely kidnap and kill tribesmen, accusing them of spying for the Pakistani government or US forces, who are fighting to quell a Taliban-led insurgency across the border in Afghanistan.

Pakistan's northwest has been wracked by violence since hundreds of Taliban and Al-Qaeda rebels escaped the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001.

Washington says these regions have become a safe haven for the Islamic militants waging an insurgency against international troops based across the border, accusing Pakistan of not doing enough to eliminate the threat.

Pakistan denies the charges.

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