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ISLAMABAD - Taliban militants claimed Saturday they beheaded a Polish engineer held hostage for four months because Pakistan didn't release captured fighters by their deadline.
A spokesman for the militants said the body of Piotr Stancza, 42, wouldn't be handed over until the prisoners were freed.


"We have killed the man after authorities refused to release our colleagues," the spokesman, identified only as Mohammed, told Reuters.
"We will now only hand over his body after our demands are met."
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said Warsaw received "informal" word the kidnappers killed Stancza - who was abducted amid a series of attacks on foreigners - but no solid proof.
The Taliban spokesman said Stancza was killed because authorities failed to free jailed militants before a deadline of midnight Friday.
The militants had insisted 60 fellow fighters be freed, but later cut their demand to four top officials. Negotiations heated up in recent days, but no agreement was reached.
Two Chinese telecommunication engineers, two Afghan diplomats and an Iranian diplomat have been kidnapped in northwest Pakistan. One of the Chinese later escaped.

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