Taliban punish 4 'spies' for recent deadly airstrike

From The Long War Journal by Bill Roggio -

The Taliban executed four more so-called 'US spies' who were accused of providing information that led to last week's controversial Predator airstrike in the Datta Khel area of North Waziristan.

Three tribesmen were shot multiple times in the Datta Khel area, and another in the nearby Mir Ali area, AFP reported. "The bodies had multiple bullet wounds and were mutilated," and notes accusing them of spying for the US were found pinned to their bodies, Wahab Khan, a Pakistani official, told the news agency.

The Taliban also accused the men of aiding the US in the March 17 Predator strike that killed more than 30 people, including 10 Taliban fighters and a senior lieutenant loyal to North Waziristan Taliban leader Hafiz Gul Bahadar. Pakistani officials, including General Pervaz Kayani, the top military commander, denounced the strike and claimed that everyone killed was a civilian attending a jirga, or council, to resolve a local mining dispute. But the Taliban were reported to have mediated the jirga.

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