Militants behead two men 'for being US spies'

WANA, Pakistan - Pro-Taleban militants in northwest Pakistan beheaded two men they accused of being US spies and a boy who had been kidnapped was found dead in the same region, security officials said today.

Islamist militants allied to Afghanistan's Taleban have been battling security forces on Pakistan's border with Afghanistan and trying to impose strict Islamic rule.

The beheaded bodies of the two men were found in different parts of the North Waziristan region. Notes were left with both bodies accusing them of being spies for the United States, a provincial government official said.

Many al Qaeda militants and their Taleban allies fled to the Pakistani side of the border after US-led forces invaded Afghanistan in the wake of the September 11 attacks on the United States and ousted the Taleban.

Pakistan has sent more than 80,000 troops into the lawless region to try and clear it of foreign militants and impose government authority.

Last week militants distributed leaflets in the area warning people not to cooperate with the Pakistani army or US forces in Afghanistan, or they risked being beheaded as spies.

In neighbouring South Waziristan, a 14-year-old boy whose brother works for the BBC was found dead, his body dumped near the town of Wana, relatives and a security official said.

BBC reporter Dilawer Wazir declined to comment when asked if he thought his brother's murder was connected to his work.

The boy, Taimur Wazir, was kidnapped by suspected militants on Tuesday.

Several reporters have been killed and wounded in attacks in the region over the past few years.

- REUTERS