Pakistani Taliban hand over body of slain Polish worker

Apr 27, 2009, 5:32 GMT

   Islamabad - Taliban militants have handed over to Pakistani authorities the body of a Polish national who was beheaded in February after four months of captivity, media reports said Monday.

   Piotr Stanczak, who worked for a Poland-based oil and gas exploratory firm, was kidnapped on September 28 in Attock district, just 85 kilometers from the capital Islamabad. His Pakistani guard and two other colleagues were killed during the abduction.

   Local Taliban insurgents handed over the body Sunday after negotiations with a tribal council in the restive South Waziristan district bordering Afghanistan, The News daily reported.

   The Polish embassy in Islamabad told the English-language Dawn newspaper that Stanczak's family was informed about the development, but added DNA tests would be carried out to confirm the identity.

   Pakistani militants in Darra Adam Khel, a lawless north-western town known for its illegal arms industry, announced Stanczak's slaying on February 7 and released video footage of the beheading the next day.

   In the video, the Pole appealed to his government to withdraw troops from Afghanistan, as two masked gunmen stood on his either side. He was beheaded after finishing the message.

   Stanczak's captors had sought the release of 60 detained militants.

   Poland also offered a reward of 1 million zloty (296,900 dollars) for information leading to the arrest of the Taliban responsible for the engineer's killing.