Graphic Taliban Video Shows Execution of 16 Pakistanis

A graphic video surfaced online Monday in which the Taliban appears to brutally and systematically execute 17 unarmed Pakistani policemen in what the group is calling a revenge killing.

The video of the massacre was confirmed by the Pakistani army today. The incident is said to have occurred in early June and the policemen, standing in a line before a Taliban member, are lectured before being shot execution style.

The killing occurs as the men stand in a line in a patch of dirt along a grassy hillside.

The Taliban members appear to condemn the men for executing six children in a previous operation, claiming their imminent deaths are revenge, according to a summary posted with the video.

Kill the enemy of Allah's faith, the lead gunman says in the video. These all are the enemy of God's religion.

Several members of the Taliban then open fire on the group until all policemen have fallen. In the background, a wailing cry is heard after the initial volley. When all bodies are on the ground, a fighter reloads and walks over the bodies, shooting each once more in the head.

Major General Athar Abbas, spokesman of the Pakistan army, said today the policemen were captured during a Taliban attack launched out of Afghanistan into Pakistan's Upper Dir district in June.

It's wrong and it's a propaganda tool, Abbas said. There was no such incident, and Pakistani children have never been executed by security forces.

No faction of the terrorist organization has come forth to take credit for the attack.