Pakistan: Alleged 'prostitutes' beheaded by fundamentalists
Source:
BBC Suspected Islamic militants in north-western Pakistan have beheaded two women they accused of being prostitutes, police say.
The bodies of the two women were found by villagers on the outskirts of the city of Bannu. A note found on the bodies accused the women of "acts of obscenity", a term that usually refers to prostitution.
The region is a known base for militants who want to impose their interpretation of Islamic law. Police said the women were travelling in a three-wheeled vehicle when masked and armed men overpowered them and bundled them into a car.
Senior district police officer Dar Khattak told Reuters news agency it was the first time militants had directly targeted and killed women in the region.
The note read: "We have started doing this to end obscenity in the area." Music and movie shops in the region have also been targeted by militants.
Militant attacks in the north-west have increased since the army ousted radical Islamists from the Red Mosque in the capital, Islamabad, in July. More than 100 people were killed in the operation.
07 September 2007
