Militants in Pakistan claim to have beheaded eight security men

Authorities recovered the beheaded bodies of four security forces in north-western Pakistan today after militant supporters of a hard-line cleric publicly executed them, officials said.

A spokesman for the cleric, Maulana Fazlullah, said seven other people kidnapped from the same minibus on Friday had also been killed, but there was no immediate confirmation from officials.

“It was done by common people, who support us because we only want enforcement of Islamic laws,” said spokesman Sirajuddin.

Javed Shah, a local police official, said that before dawn today they recovered the remains of three Frontier Constabulary soldiers and one policeman who were beheaded in Ningulai village on Friday. He said villagers told police the executions were public.

He said the fate of the remaining seven people, including three civilians, was still not known.

The 11 people were kidnapped from a minibus on the outskirts of Swat, where government forces attacked the stronghold of pro-Taliban leader Maulana Fazlullah on Friday. The fighting claimed at least three lives.