Taliban militants behead Swat police constable

Facing a major Pakistani offensive, the retreating Taliban militants have carried out the  gruesome beheading of a captured police official.

The police found the decapitated body of a constable in a town in Swat valley, where for the last three months the Pakistan army is carrying out a flushing operation against the Taliban, officials were quoted by TV channels as saying. They said the police constable was kidnapped a week ago by militants.

His corpse was found on Tuesday with his head severed about four kilometres from Swat's main town Mingora. Over the past two years, Taliban militants have beheaded a number of army and police personnel, whom they had taken as prisoners.

The militants have meted out similar punishments to civilians including wealthy landlords in different parts of Swat. The Taliban militia has been targeting the local police, as the authorities have announced plans to augment and re-arm the police forces in a six-month programme.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan army has declared that its units would remain in main cities of Swat, till the situation returns to normal.