Pak Taliban militants kill 28 tribesmen

The Pakistani Taliban have executed at least 28 tribal elders of a pro-Government peace committee abducted two days ago from North West Frontier Province...

The Pakistani Taliban have executed at least 28 tribal elders of a pro-Government peace committee abducted two days ago from North West Frontier Province (NWFP), stoking fresh tension in the restive region. Members of the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, led by Baitullah Mehsud, kidnapped 30 members of the peace committee, formed to quell unrest in the region, two days ago from Kariwam and Jandola in Tank district.

The abducted men, all members of the Bhittani tribe, were taken to adjacent South Waziristan tribal region, a stronghold of Baitullah Mehsud, and held hostage by the Taliban on charges of helping the security forces.

Twenty-eight of the kidnapped men were executed by “a firing squad” late on Tuesday night. Their bullet-riddled bodies were left in a market in Kariwam village on Wednesday morning. The recovery of the bodies created tension in the Tank area and South Waziristan agency.

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Those killed are said to be members of the so-called Turkistan Peace Committee. Similar committees were set up with Government assistance in parts of the tribal areas in recent months to help maintain order. However, Mehsud’s allies — and some officials—said the Turkistan Peace Committee had set up checkpoints and extorted money from local residents.

Officials said 22 bodies had been found, but elders of the Bhittani tribe claimed 28 bodies had been recovered. The tribal elders also announced the postponement of a jirga that was scheduled to be held on Wednesday.

Elsewhere in the northwest, suspected Islamic militants burned down five girls’ schools and took control of another primary school. On Wednesday morning, more than 120 armed men seized control of a Government primary school in Bela Gud village, about 8 km from Mingora, the main town in Swat, said a police officer.

The police said the trio from Chandigarh — Rohan (21), Sumit (22), and Mohit (19) — were dhol players by profession and had procured the weapons due to an old rivalry with local residents.

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