Taliban sever hand of accused

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ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Jan. 4 (UPI) -- Residents watched as the Pakistani Taliban severed a hand of a tribesman accused of theft, officials said.

The incident Monday in Orakzai tribal area came a day after militants slit the throat of a man in Ismailzai district in the same tribal area, after accusing of spying for security forces, Dawn newspaper reported Tuesday.

The man who lost his hand was identified as Abdul Khaliq. The report said a Shariah court of the banned Taliban group had found him "guilty" of theft in Orakzai, the report said. The punishment in Qureshan Chowk was witnessed by local people, Dawn said.

The report said Pakistani security forces and the local administration have claimed that 90 percent of Orakzai has been cleared of the militants, but that the banned Taliban remain quite active in many parts of the region.

The body of the victim whose throat was slit was found Monday along with a letter, said the report, which gave no details of the letter.

In other recent Taliban incidents, Dawn said in November the militants publicly flogged 25 alleged drug peddlers in the same region.