Militants kill two 'US spies' in northwest Pakistan

PESHAWAR: Suspected militants shot dead two Pakistani men accused of spying for US troops in neighbouring Afghanistan, police said on Sunday.

The bodies of two men, aged about 30, were found early Sunday by paramilitary soldiers near Khirgi checkpost in the northwestern town of Jandola which borders the South Waziristan tribal district, local police official Omar Hayat said.

A note found with the bodies read "they were spying for Americans. They were involved in fake currency business and were enemies of 160 million Pakistani people."

The pair were shot in the head and one also had knife cuts on his throat, Hayat said.

"We have identified the dead men and informed their families and the bodies were kept at the main police station in the adjoining town of Tank," he said.

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.

Key US ally Pakistan has deployed some 80,000 troops to hunt down Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters who are believed to have sneaked into the tribal terrain after the fall of the Taliban regime in Afghanistan in late 2001.