MIRANSHAH, Pakistan (AFP) — Taliban militants hanged one man and shot dead another in a restive Pakistani tribal region near the Afghan border, after accusing them of spying for the United States, an official said Tuesday.

The body of local tribesman Shahjir Khan, 25, was found early Tuesday dumped in the central market of Miranshah, the main town in the North Waziristan tribal district, a security official told AFP.

A note found with Khan’s body said he had been hanged because he had spied on Taliban activities and passed information to the United States, the official said.

The bullet-riddled body of an Afghan refugee identified as Akram Khan was found late Monday near the village of Sarobi, some 10 kilometres (six miles) south of Miranshah, with a similar note, he said.

Militants have killed dozens of local tribesmen and Afghan refugees on charges of spying, mainly for the Pakistani government or US forces operating across the border in Afghanistan.

Elsewhere, Taliban militants in Mohmand tribal district late Monday kidnapped an 11-member jirga, or peace delegation of tribal elders, from neighbouring Bajaur tribal district, a local administration official said.

The official said the elders were snatched during a mission to urge the Taliban not to fire rockets on Khar, the main town in Bajaur, where troops have been fighting militants since early August.

Regional administration deputy chief Iqbal Khattak confirmed to AFP that the kidnapping had taken place but gave no further details.

In the village of Mamoond, also in Bajaur, Taliban militants set fire to the homes of four tribal elders for backing the Pakistani government, residents said.

Pakistan’s lawless tribal areas have been wracked by violence since hundreds of Taliban and Al-Qaeda rebels sought refuge in the region after the US-led invasion of Afghanistan toppled the hardline Taliban regime in late 2001.

AFP: Taliban kill two US ‘spies’ in Pakistan: official