03 January,2009 04:51 PM IST | | PTI
Holding sway over the restive Swat valley, Taliban have begun selective killings, targetting dancers, politicians and paramilitary personnel.
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Six persons were killed by the Taliban yesterday in troubled northwestern Swat valley, where violence by militants has claimed hundreds of lives since last year.
The mutilated bodies of two Frontier Constabulary personnel were found by the roadside near Mingora, the main town of Swat district yesterday, media reports said today. The throats of both men were slit. They had been kidnapped earlier from a police post.
A note found near the bodies said "all security personnel will face the same fate".
Shabana, a well-known dancer of Swat, was abducted from her house by militants and brought to Green Chowk in Mingora, where she was shot dead yesterday.
Swat was once known for its dancing girls but they gave up performing after Taliban militants increased their influence in the region and stopped all "un-Islamic" activities. Deedar Gul, a leader of the Awami National Party that rules the NWFP, too was shot dead by militants in the Kalam area of Swat.
The Taliban have stepped up attacks on ANP leaders and workers in the past few months. Militants also shot dead two other persons in different parts of Swat. In another incident, two people were killed by the security forces after they violated curfew regulations.
Militants also surrounded Prince Hotel in Mingora and kidnapped two persons yesterday. The militants claimed an attack was launched on their colleagues from the same hotel some time ago. The Taliban also kidnapped a man from Matta sub-district and a paramilitary personnel from the main market in Mingora.
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