Alleged US spy found beheaded in Pakistan

Suspected Islamic militants beheaded an Afghan refugee they accused of spying for the US, a Pakistani intelligence official said today.

The man’s body, with its severed head and limbs, was found yesterday near Ghulam Khan, a town in North Waziristan close to the Afghan border.

A note found with the body identified the dead man as Nek Amal, from Zozak village in Afghanistan’s neighbouring Khost province. It said Amal was “a spy of America”, the official said.

Afghan refugees from Khost living in Ghulam Khan identified Amal’s body and transported it to Khost for burial, he said.

Scores of people, including tribal elders and some clerics, have been killed by suspected militants in recent years in the border region for alleged collusion with Pakistani authorities or spying for the US

Many have occurred in North Waziristan, where Taliban and al Qaida militants are believed to have found refuge among sympathetic tribesmen since the US-led invasion of Afghanistan in 2001.