Taliban kill four alleged spies in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD - The bodies of four men apparently killed by the Taliban for working as informers for the US, were found Tuesday in Pakistan’s lawless tribal zone, officials said.

The bodies of the local men, who had been shot several times, were discovered in the Hamzoni area in the district of North Waziristan, near the Afghan border.

Notes found with the bodies accused the men of spying for the US. “Anyone spying on the Taliban will face a similar fate,” the text was quoted as saying by an intelligence official.

Authorities said they thought the men were killed overnight and their bodies dumped by the roadside as a warning to the local tribesmen.

“All the dead are locals and belonged to the Muhammad Khel area of Dattakhel,” a second intelligence official said on condition of anonymity.

Islamist militants have executed dozens of suspected spies in the past. They believe some locals spot their positions for the US drone attacks in return for money.

The US drone campaign has killed hundreds, including many suspected Taliban and Al Qaeda fighters, in Pakistan’s mountainous tribal region since 2008.

The tribal belt is considered a haven of Al Qaeda and Taliban rebels, from where they carry out assaults on US and NATO forces in Afghanistan.