ISLAMABAD, Pakistan, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- The bodies of 15 members of Pakistan's Frontier Constabulary were found Thursday nearly two weeks after they were kidnapped, officials said.
A senior constabulary commander said the 15 men were killed in Shawa in the North Waziristan tribal region near the Afghan border, Geo TV reported.
The commander said all of the bodies had bullet wounds.
The Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the killings, saying they were in retaliation for a recent security operation against the Taliban organization in Landi Kotal.
Taliban spokesman Ihsanullah Ihsan said in a letter distributed to media the slayings were an "act of revenge" for the killings of militants in the Khyber tribal region Sunday, The New York Times reported. Ihsan also threatened more attacks.
Local Taliban commander Qari Kamran and 11 insurgents were killed after security forces attacked a hideout.
The paramilitary soldiers were kidnapped Dec. 23 after dozens of Taliban insurgents stormed a fort in South Waziristan, a tribal region along Pakistan's border with Afghanistan.
