Taliban stage public execution in Pakistan

The Pakistani Taliban staged a public execution in front of hundreds of tribesmen in the country's north-west yesterday after an Islamic court convicted the man of killing two brothers.

The execution illustrated the level of militant control in North Waziristan, a tribal area along the Afghan border where the US has long pushed Pakistan to assert its authority.

The executed man was caught by the Taliban minutes after he killed the brothers two weeks ago in Miran Shah, the main town in North Waziristan. A Taliban court convicted him of murder and sentenced him to death. After the ruling, the Taliban paraded the man on a football field in Miran Shah surrounded by hundreds of tribesmen, said a resident, Khan Ameer. As the Taliban watched, a brother of the slain men shot the convicted murderer six times, he said.

The Taliban often carry out public executions to demonstrate their power and to set an example.