Taliban claim killing 23 abducted Pakistani soldiers

Taliban militants late Sunday night claimed to have killed 23 security personnel kidnapped in 2010 in the country's northwestern tribal region of Mohmand Agency, a leading Pakistani daily reported. The announcement was made by the Mohmand Agency Taliban chief Umar Khalid Khurrasani, who issued a letter on social media, saying the personnel of paramilitary Frontier Constabulary (FC) were killed to avenge the custodial killing of Taliban fighters in various parts of the country, The Dawn reported. The letter, written in Urdu and attributed to Umar Khalid Khurrasani, says the Taliban had warned against the killings of their fighters. The claim of the Mohmand agency Taliban however could not be confirmed from any independent sources. There is also no confirmation of the incident from the political administration or the FC authorities. The Taliban letter and a video further claim that the release of Taliban prisoners is one of the main demands of the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) for agreeing to hold talks with the government. Analysts believe that Mohmand Taliban are a group which is not in favour of talks with the government and has always shown a rigid stance.