Police Officer Is Found Beheaded in Pakistan’s Swat Valley

[Coventina]

Source: New York Times

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — The beheaded body of a police constable who was kidnapped last week in the Swat Valley was found Tuesday morning near the town of Mingora, the police said.

A police official in Swat said the killing of the constable, Jehan Zada, amounted to a “continuation of the same process,” implying that the police believe the Taliban were to blame.

Police officers have become prime targets of Taliban assassins in Swat, and the abduction and killing of the constable underscores the continuing pressure on the police there. Mr. Zada was snatched from his house in the Sangota area of the valley, the police said.

His killing also seems to demonstrate the Taliban’s reach and ability in the Swat Valley despite the presence of more than 20,000 Pakistani soldiers who have deployed there to flush out the militants.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/29/world/asia/29pakistan.html