'US spy' shot dead in Pakistan tribal area

Insurgents had on Monday beheaded a pro-government tribal elder in a tribal region on similar charges.

Pro-Taliban men shot dead a Pakistani tribesman after accusing him of spying for US troops in Afghanistan, local officials and family members said on Thursday.

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In the latest of a series of similar incidents, Nek Mohammad, 40, was gunned down on Wednesday outside his home near Angoor Ada, a remote border town in the semi-autonomous tribal region of South Waziristan, they said.

He had been receiving threats from militants for the past few months, his cousin Dilawar Khan said. He said that one letter had warned: "Stop spying for US forces in Afghanistan or you will be killed."

Insurgents had on Monday beheaded a pro-government tribal elder in the adjoining tribal region of North Waziristan on similar charges.

Several tribesmen have been shot dead or beheaded this year for allegedly spying for US-led forces in Afghanistan or supporting Pakistan's campaign against Al-Qaeda and other militants in the rugged area.